Google Analytics Android SDK v4 was released earlier this year, and has changed its architecture to become part of the Google Play Services SDK. However, according to the changelog, the SDK "does not require devices to have Google Play Services installed. When Google Play Services is not available the SDK will automatically fall back to local dispatching." So, this will not disturb Kindle compatibility.
Some effects:
We're now using an Application subclass, called CongressApp, that houses the singleton Tracker for the application. It has one method, which idempotently creates a tracker if it does not exist, and returns it if it has already been created.
Network requests have now doubled, as we're sending a ping event with every activity start. This is to associate custom dimensions with normal hits, and the v4 SDK now only allows custom dimensions to be set on hits/events, not at the tracker level. Since we use the activity start/stop convenience methods for the tracker, we don't have an opportunity to set custom dimensions on normal hits, only events. Thus, this hack.
The new v4 SDK supports multiple trackers, especially to allow for "roll-up" and e-commerce trackers separate from one's main app tracker. This was evaluated, and implemented and removed along the way. It was removed primarily because of the additional network requests (2 extra, because of the ping issue described above) it would incur. It's also just not worth the complexity in the code.
All activities using the tracker are still making method calls in onStart and onStop. However, now they are making an additional call in onCreate, which is where trackers are initialized if need be. Calls in onStart and onStop are calls to the GoogleAnalytics singleton, which manages any number of initialized trackers.
The app brings in the Google Analytics SDK over the network via gradle. The old .jar in libs/ has been removed.
When the user checks/unchecks the analytics setting, it also sends a signal to the tracker to respect the optout. In theory, this should be superfluous, but this should add some small layer of protection against bugs in my own analytics-disabling code.
Hopefully this is the last time the Analytics SDK goes through a major revision by Google for a while! The v3 tracker didn't have a very long shelf-life before being replaced by v4.
Resolves #623.
Google Analytics Android SDK v4 was released earlier this year, and has changed its architecture to become part of the Google Play Services SDK. However, according to the changelog, the SDK "does not require devices to have Google Play Services installed. When Google Play Services is not available the SDK will automatically fall back to local dispatching." So, this will not disturb Kindle compatibility.
Some effects:
Applicationsubclass, calledCongressApp, that houses the singletonTrackerfor the application. It has one method, which idempotently creates a tracker if it does not exist, and returns it if it has already been created.pingevent with every activity start. This is to associate custom dimensions with normal hits, and the v4 SDK now only allows custom dimensions to be set on hits/events, not at the tracker level. Since we use the activity start/stop convenience methods for the tracker, we don't have an opportunity to set custom dimensions on normal hits, only events. Thus, this hack.pingissue described above) it would incur. It's also just not worth the complexity in the code.onStartandonStop. However, now they are making an additional call inonCreate, which is where trackers are initialized if need be. Calls inonStartandonStopare calls to theGoogleAnalyticssingleton, which manages any number of initialized trackers..jarinlibs/has been removed.Hopefully this is the last time the Analytics SDK goes through a major revision by Google for a while! The v3 tracker didn't have a very long shelf-life before being replaced by v4.