Java 8 Language Features Support Update

Posted by James Lau, Product Manager



Yesterday, we released Android Studio
2.4 Preview 6. Java 8 language features are now supported by the Android
build system in the javac/dx compilation path. Android Studio's Gradle plugin
now desugars Java 8 class files to Java 7-compatible class files, so you can use
lambdas,
method references and other features of Java 8.




For those of you who tried the Jack compiler, we now support the same set of
Java 8 language features but with faster build speed. You can use Java 8
language features together with tools that rely on bytecode, including Instant
Run. Using libraries written with Java 8 is also supported.




We first added Java 8 desugaring in Android Studio 2.4 Preview 4. Preview 6
includes important bug fixes related to Java 8 language features support. Many
of these fixes were made in response to bug reports you filed. We really
appreciate your help in improving Android development tools for the community!




It's easy to try using Java 8 language features in your Android project. Just
download Android Studio
2.4 Preview 6, and update your project's target and source compatibility to
Java version 1.8. You can find more information in our preview
documentation.




Happy lambda'ing!

A New Issue Tracker for our AOSP Developers

Posted by Sandie Gong, Developer Relations Program Manager & Chris Iremonger, Android Technical Program Manager



Like many other issue trackers at Google, we're upgrading our Android Open Source Project (AOSP) issue tracking system to Issue Tracker. We are hoping to facilitate a better collaboration between our developers and our Android product teams by using a tool we use internally at Google to track bugs and feature requests during product development.



Starting today, all issues formerly at code.google.com/p/android/issues will migrate to Issue Tracker under the Android Public Tracker component. You may have noticed that we are already using the new tool to collect feedback on the O Developer Preview!



What has been migrated

• All open and closed issues you've filed


• All your starred issues


• Allissues you've commented on

Getting started with Issue Tracker

You can learn more about navigating our Issue Tracker from our developer documentation. By default, Issue Tracker displays only the issues assigned to you. You can easily change that to show a hotlist of your choice, a bookmark group, or a saved search. You can also adjust notification settings by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner and selecting Settings.



The mappings in Issue Tracker are also slightly different than code.google.com so make sure to check out Life of a Bug to learn more about what the various statuses mean.

Searching for component specific issues

Opening a code.google.com issue link will automatically redirect you to the new system. We've cleaned up some of the spam, but you'll be able to find all of the other issues from code.google.com in Issue Tracker, including any issue you've reported, commented on, or starred.



You can view all reported Android issues in the Android Public Tracker component and drill down to see reported issues for specific categories of issues, such as Tools and Support Libraries, by searching for specific components.

Filing a bug or feature request

Before filing a new issue, please check if it is already reported in the issues list. Let us know what issues are important to you by starring an existing issue.



Submitting a new issue is easy. Once you click "Create Issue", search for the appropriate component for your issue. Alternatively, you can just follow the correct issue creation link for each component listed in Report Bugs.

Here's some helpful links to get you started!

Topic	Relevant Links
Navigating and creating issues in the Android component	All open issues under the Android Public tracker component Android issues you've reported, commented or starred How to file a new Android bug or feature request What happens after you file a bug in the AOSP Issue Tracker
Navigating Google Issue Tracker	Google Issue Tracker developer documentation Changing your Issue Tracker homepage Searching within Issue Tracker
Google Issue Tracker announcements for other products	Blog post announcing the Cloud Platform move to Issue Tracker Blog post announcing the GSuite move to Issue Tracker