WordPress-FluxC-Android

WordPress-FluxC-Android is a networking and persistence library that helps to connect and sync data from a WordPress site (self hosted, or wordpress.com site).

Based on the Flux pattern, we're using: Dagger2 for dependency injection, WellSql for persistence.

FluxC is pronounced ‘fluxy’, and stands for ‘Flux Capacitor’. This makes a double reference to the architecture model (since a capacitor is a kind of storage unit, or ‘store’). More importantly, a flux capacitor is the core component of the DeLorean time machine in Back to the Future, which ‘makes time travel possible.’

Most of our documentation for using and contributing to FluxC can be found in our wiki.

Using FluxC as a library

Please see our Using FluxC wiki page for setup instructions.

Building the library

The gradle build system will fetch all dependencies and generate files you need to build the project. You first need to generate the local.properties (replace YOUR_SDK_DIR with your actual android SDK directory) file and create the gradle.properties file. The easiest way is to copy our example:

$ echo "sdk.dir=YOUR_SDK_DIR" > local.properties
$ cp gradle.properties-example gradle.properties
$ ./gradlew fluxc:build

Building and running tests and the example app

$ cp -a example/properties-example/ example/properties/
$ ./gradlew cAT       # Regression tests
$ ./gradlew testDebug # Unit tests

Note: this uses the default example/properties/api.properties file. You'll have to get a WordPress.com OAuth2 ID and secret.

We have some tests connecting to real HTTP servers, URL and credentials are defined in example/properties/tests.properties, you must edit it or obtain the real file to run the tests.

Please note that, unless using special credentials which cannot be shared publicly, some of the WordPress.com connected tests will not pass unless the OAuth2 ID and secret are registered to the account that the test is attempting to log into.

OAuth2 Authentication

To test with your own OAuth2 ID and Secret you will need to create an application or view the details for your existing application with our WordPress.com applications manager.

When creating your application, you should select "Native client" for the application type. The applications manager currently requires a "redirect URL", but this isn't used for mobile apps. Just use "https://localhost".

Once you've created your application in the applications manager, you'll need to edit the example/properties/api.properties file and change the wp.OAUTH.APP.ID and wp.OAUTH.APP.SECRET fields.

Setting up Checkstyle

The FluxC project uses Checkstyle. You can run checkstyle using ./gradlew checkstyle. You can also view errors and warnings in realtime with the Checkstyle plugin. When importing the project into Android Studio, Checkstyle should be set up automatically. If it is not, follow the steps below.

You can install the CheckStyle-IDEA plugin in Android Studio here:

Android Studio > Preferences... > Plugins > CheckStyle-IDEA

Once installed, you can configure the plugin here:

Android Studio > Preferences... > Tools > Checkstyle

From there, add and enable the configuration file for FluxC, located at config/checkstyle.xml.

Using Detekt

The FluxC project uses detekt for Kotlin linting and code style check.

You can run detekt using ./gradlew detekt.

You can also view errors and warnings in realtime with the Detekt plugin.

You can install the detekt plugin in Android Studio here:

Android Studio > Preferences... > Plugins > detekt

Once installed, you can configure the plugin here:

Android Studio > Preferences... > Tools > Detekt

From there, add and enable the custom configuration file, located at config/detekt/detekt.yml.

If you want to use the AutoCorrect feature of the plugin, make sure that the option Enable formatting (ktlint) rules is enabled in the above settings, then you will be able to reformat any file according to detekt's rules using the refactor menu AutoCorrect by Detekt Rules

Contributing

Actions

Each store should have a corresponding enum defining actions for that store. For example, SiteStore's actions are defined in the SiteAction enum.

Action naming guide:

FETCH_X - request data from the server
PUSH_X - send data to the server
UPDATE_X - local change
REMOVE_X - local remove
DELETE_X - request deletion on the server

Each action enum should be annotated with @ActionEnum, with individual actions receiving an @Action annotation with an optional payloadType setting (see SiteAction for an example).

Endpoints

Endpoints for each of the supported APIs are centralized in a generated endpoint file: WPCOMREST.java and XMLRPC.java (also WPAPI.java).

To add a new endpoint, first add it to the appropriate fluxc-processor/src/main/resources/*.txt file, and then rebuild the project to update the generated (Java) endpoint file.

Note that, for WordPress.com REST API endpoints, the final endpoint will be normalized to include a trailing slash.

Response Models

Create a class implementing Response interface in a corresponding package in org.wordpress.android.fluxc.network.rest tree.

Prefer using nullable types in response models to prevent crashes when the API changes. Map nullable types to non-nullable types (if applicable) when mapping response models to domain models.

On Changed Events

All On Changed Events extend the OnChanged class. They encapsulate an error field. Events can be checked for an error by calling event.isError().

On Changed Events naming guide:

onXChanged(int rowsAffected) - Keep X singular even if multiple X were changed
onXRemoved(int rowsAffected) - Keep X singular even if multiple X were removed

Need help to build or hack?

Say hello on our Slack channel: #mobile.

LICENSE

WordPress-FluxC-Android is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2.