Getting the OkHttp Library Using Gradle

We left off with the general knowledge of the OkHttp API. 0:00 We've been looking at the project page on GitHub. 0:04 But let's turn our attention to the project's website shown here. 0:06 I've included links for this in the Teachers Notes as well. 0:12 The project's site provides additional information about the library and 0:15 has some examples. 0:18 One thing to note that is shown here is the minimum requirements for using OkHttp. 0:20 We need to be using Android 2.3 and Java 1.7. 0:28 There are newer versions of both of these at this point, but 0:32 it is something to check and consider. 0:36 We're using Gradle for our project, and 0:38 if we look here in the download section, We see a Gradle statement we can use. 0:40 It's also listed over in their GitHub repository. 0:45 So let's copy this line, and head back to Android Studio. 0:54 In the project pane we need to expand Gradle scripts, 1:01 and the build.gradle file for our app. 1:09 This one here, we don't want the Stormy project file, we want the app file. 1:15 Android Studio has a main module, 1:21 typically called app, it has application-specific code. 1:23 This is the file in which we can paste our line of code from OkHttp. 1:27 Looking in here, though, where should It go? 1:32 This Gradle file doesn't look at all like Java code, right? 1:34 Well, it isn't. 1:38 Gradle is an automated build system used in Android development, and elsewhere. 1:40 It allows us to configure a few things, and in exchange, it does a lot of work for 1:45 us automatically behind the scenes. 1:50 It's a huge time saver, and once it is setup for 1:52 a specific project, we don't have to do much else. 1:55 Another productivity enhancement, very cool. 1:59 When using an outside resource, such as OkHttp, 2:02 our Stormy app depends on that library, Gradle excels at managing dependencies. 2:06 And hey, look at this, 2:11 there is a section in our build.gradle file called dependencies. 2:13 That's where we'll paste our line of code from OkHttp. 2:17 So we can go right down here under this last implementation, 2:22 and we'll paste in our line from OkHttp. 2:25 Let's quickly talk about this build file. 2:30 This Android section up here at the top provides settings for 2:32 things like the SDK version, and our default configuration. 2:35 The dependencies section, where we just added our code, 2:40 tells Gradle about external dependencies we'd like it to manage. 2:43 We can see that there is a file tree where Gradle watches for Java archive files, or 2:47 JAR files, in the Libs directory. 2:51 Some third-party libraries are still used via JAR files, and 2:53 Gradle can keep track of those. 2:57 There are some additional dependencies in here relating to testing and 2:59 compatibility features. 3:02 The format, though, is the same. 3:04 In our case, the com.squareup.okhttp3 tells Gradle where to find the file, 3:06 that OkHttp is the library to get, and that 3.10.0 is the version to use. 3:14 When a new version comes out, you can come back here to this build.gradle file, 3:22 update the version number and synchronize the new changes. 3:26 Which reminds me, anytime we make changes in this file, we need to sync the changes. 3:30 This allows Gradle to update the project, and 3:35 get any additional files our project may need. 3:38 You'll notice that Android Studio displays a warning up here about this as well. 3:41 We can either click the Sync Now link, Or 3:46 click on this button to perform a project sync. 3:51 After Gradle all goes and rebuilds the project, 3:58 which depending on your system and network can take a few moments, 4:00 we see a message that Gradle build finished, down here at the bottom. 4:03 Once we see that message, we're all set. 4:08 If, however, 4:11 you get an error, try using your Google skills to find out what happened. 4:12 Check the Teachers Notes to see if there are any updates, or 4:16 ask questions in the Treehouse forum. 4:19 With OkHttp installed and all set to go, we're ready to use it. 4:22 We head back to the OkHttp website here, We can look for the examples. 4:26 There's also other links to resources on this page as well, 4:33 such us Javadocs, there Wiki, and StackOverflow. 4:38 The OkHttp Wiki has some decent usage examples, and 4:42 I encourage you to have a look around before we come back together and 4:46 make our first http get request from Stormy. 4:50