Start activity with permissions

Question

I want to do a simple exercise with permissions. I need to define and enforce a custom permission for my app called "DangerousApp" And after that I need to set up another app, "PermissionsLab" in such a way that it could use the "DangerousApp" but when I try to start the "DangerousApp" using "PermissionLab" I get an error: "Unfortunately, PermissionsLab has stopped"

AndroidManifest.xml of PermissionsLab:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="course.labs.permissionslab"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0" >

    <uses-sdk
        android:minSdkVersion="8"
        android:targetSdkVersion="18" />

    <!--  TODO - add uses-permission elements -->
    <uses-permission android:name="com.android.browser.permission.READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="course.labs.permissions.DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY_PERM"/>

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
        <activity
            android:name=".ActivityLoaderActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_main" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name=".BookmarksActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_permissions" >
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name=".GoToDangerousActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_activity_customization" >
        </activity>
    </application>

</manifest>

AndroidManifest.xml of DangerousApp:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="course.labs.permissionslab"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0" >

    <uses-sdk
        android:minSdkVersion="8"
        android:targetSdkVersion="18" />

    <!--  TODO - add uses-permission elements -->
    <uses-permission android:name="com.android.browser.permission.READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="course.labs.permissions.DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY_PERM"/>

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
        <activity
            android:name=".ActivityLoaderActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_main" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name=".BookmarksActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_permissions" >
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name=".GoToDangerousActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_activity_customization" >
        </activity>
    </application>

</manifest>

And the activity used to start DangerousApp:

package course.labs.permissionslab;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;

public class GoToDangerousActivity extends Activity {

    private static final String TAG = "Lab-Permissions";

    private static final String DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY_ACTION = "course.labs.permissions.DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY";

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.go_to_dangerous_activity);

        Button startDangerousActivityButton = (Button) findViewById(R.id.start_dangerous_activity_button);
        startDangerousActivityButton.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {

                startDangerousActivity();

            }
        });

    }

    private void startDangerousActivity() {

        Log.i(TAG, "Entered startDangerousActivity()");

        startActivity(new Intent(DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY_ACTION));


    }

}

Thanks for your clarifications.

An Activity is not an app, and you are starting a new Activity (`startDangerousActivity`), instead of another app. [This](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3872063/launch-an-application-from-another-application-on-android) is how you start a new app in Android. — m0skit0, Mar 10 '15 at 23:12
@m0skit0 I have two apps and I'm trying to start one app from another. You are confused, startDangerousActivity is a method that I use to start my app with an implicit intent. — Juan David, Mar 10 '15 at 23:15
Use LogCat to examine the Java stack trace associated with your crash: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23353173/unfortunately-myapp-has-stopped-how-can-i-solve-this Beyond that, are these the correct manifests? There is no `course.labs.permissions.DANGEROUS_ACTIVITY_PERM` in Android, and you have not defined it yourself. — CommonsWare, Mar 10 '15 at 23:17
I'm not confused, dear. I said: that's not how you start an app. I posted a link on how you start another app, maybe you should check it. — m0skit0, Mar 10 '15 at 23:47

LaurentY · Accepted Answer · 2015-03-11T09:08:33.850

Permission help you to protect service, application, activity, ... Here documentation: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/security/permissions.html#declaring http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/security/permissions.html#manifest

for instance, if you want to protect an activity with a permission, in AndroidManifest declare a permission and put it on activity as this:

<manifest [...] >
    <permission android:name="com.mycompany.MY_PERMISSION"  android:protectionLevel="normal"
        android:description="@string/permission_desc"
        android:label="@string/permission_label" />
    <application [...] >
        <activity [...] android:permission="com.mycompany.MY_PERMISSION">
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

In another application, if you want to call activity protected by permission, you have to add in AndroidManifest:

<uses-permission android:name="com.mycompany.MY_PERMISSION" />

Start activity with permissions

1 Answers1