Why are build types distinct from product flavors?

Question

Preface: this is not a question about how to use build types and product flavors in an Android app. I understand the basic concepts involved. This question is more about trying to understand which configuration should be specified in a build type, which configuration should be specified in a product flavor, and whether any distinction is actually necessary.

This week, I've been learning more about gradle configuration for Android apps. I initially thought I had a good handle on build types vs product flavors, but the deeper I got into the documentation the more I realized the distinction between the two was not clear to me at all.

Since there is a well-defined hierarchy (in the sense that properties specified in build types take precedence over those specified in product flavors), I don't understand why there is a need to distinguish between build types and product flavors at all. Would it not be better to merge all properties and methods into the product flavor DSL object, and then just treat build type as a (default) flavor dimension?

Some concrete examples that led to my confusion:

• The signingConfig property can be set in both build types and product flavors... but minifyEnabled (and, I assume, shrinkResources?) can only be configured in build types.

• applicationId can only be specified in product flavors... and applicationIdSuffix can only be specified in build types!?

The actual question(s):

Given the above examples: is there a clear distinction between the roles of build types vs product flavors?

If so, what is the best way to understand it?

If not, is the plan to eventually merge build types and product flavors into a single configurable DSL object?

Answer 1

Expanding on what @CommonsWare said in the comments, the basic idea is that build types are for different builds of your application that aren't functionally different -- if you have a debug and release version of your app, they're the same app, but one contains debugging code, maybe more logging, etc., and the other is streamlined and optimized and possibly obfuscated via ProGuard. With flavors, the intent is that the app is notably different in some way. The clearest example would be a free vs. a paid version of your app, but developers may also differentiate based on where it's being distributed (which could affect in-app billing API use).

There are developers that make many, many different versions of a similar app for different customers -- an example might be a simple app that opens up a web page in a web view, with different URLs and branding for each version -- this is a good use of flavors.

To reiterate, if it's "the same application", modulo some differences that aren't important to the end user, and especially if all of the variants except for one are for your own testing and development use and only one variant will be deployed to end users, then it's a good candidate for build types. If it's "a different" application and multiple variants would be deployed to users, then perhaps it's a candidate for a product flavor.

You've already seen that there are some functionality differences between build types and flavors, in that some options are supported for one but not the other. But the concepts are different even though they're similar, and there's no plan to merge them together.

Answer 2

Build Types configure the packaging of our app:

• shrinkResources
• proguardFile
• etc.

Product Flavors configure different classes and resources:

• in Flavor1 your MainActivity can do something, while in Flavor2 it can have a different implementation
• different app name
• etc.

Each product flavor can have its own values of the following properties, among others, which are based on the same properties from defaultConfig:

• applicationId
• minSdkVersion
• targetSdkVersion
• versionCode
• versionName

Answer 3

Here's how I distill the difference down to its essence:

• buildType is the how of the build.
• flavor is the what of the build.

Answer 4

Both are the essential part of your application in which we have to provide different rules and regulation using build types and product flavors

Both are defined in build.gradle(Module) #Build_Type Which mainly have debugged and release

buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
        debug {
            buildConfigField "boolean", "FILE_LOGGING", "true"
            signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
            versionNameSuffix ".debug"
        }
    }

In the above build types, we can provide a different set of rules for debugging and release

#Product_Flavours It depend upon your enviorment like stage,qa or producation

productFlavors {
       staging {
            versionNameSuffix "_STG"
            versionCode 12
            dimension "version"
            buildConfigField "boolean", "shareLog", "true"
            applicationIdSuffix ".staging.abcapp"
            
      }
        QA {
            versionNameSuffix "_awsQA"
            versionCode 01
            dimension "version"
            buildConfigField "boolean", "shareLog", "true"
            applicationIdSuffix ".awsqa.abcapp"
       
        }
        production {
            dimension "version"
            buildConfigField "boolean", "shareLog", "false"
            applicationIdSuffix ".android.abc"
            
        }
    }

Using this you can set your pkg name also u can specify the environment

This build types and product flavours you can chagne from build variants

Answer 5

The build types are used to indicate debug/release mode with different certificates and enabling Proguard or debuggable flag.

The flavors are used to have custom features (for example free or paid version), minimum and target API levels, device and API requirements like the layout, drawable so you can have different code and resources in different flavors.

Answer 6

Let's clear with a real life example. Suppose you have a cooked noodles plate. So if you ask the chef that

What is the Build type of it?

s/he will answer like this -

• With half boiled water
• With less salt
• In pressure cooker etc.

That means s/he is describing how s/he build the noodles.

What is the Production Flavors of it? s/he will answer like this -

• Cheesy
• Less salty
• Less oily

That means s/he is describing what actually now it is in flavor after the build.

Let's come to the theory -

Build Types: In Android apps, build types usually refer to the environment in which you’re running the app. Every module has to debug and release build types by default, but you can define more as needed. If you’ve worked in tech companies, you may know there are usually more than those two. You can customize your build types to include other styles such as QA, Release Candidate or RC, Pre-Prod, or whatever fits your needs.

Flavors: Apps often vary in ways besides environment-based differences. Flavors support these kinds of variations. For example, you can use flavors to handle:

• Having a paid version of your app vs. a free version.
• Having a version for each store you upload to, such as Amazon Appstore, Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store.
• Using the same app for different products and customizing the assets to change the app’s look and feel.

Build variants: Variants are the combination of build types and build flavors. For example, you can have a “dev paid” version of your app, which is a combination of the “dev” build type and “paid” flavor of your app. If you have both flavors and types, you’ll release variants when uploading to the Google Play Store or any other store.