April 26

AerisWeather Android SDK v2.0 Has Arrived!

Pretty much any time we hear someone say “version 2.0”, it conjures up images of things all shiny and new, with the promise of improvement and innovation around every corner. This milestone release of AerisWeather Android SDK v2.0 is no different, bringing with it a full arsenal of goodies. AerisWeather API endpoints, AMP map layers, a improved permissions set and updated dependencies. It’s everything you need to create the next groundbreaking Android weather app!

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Version 2.0 At a Glance

So while the development team toiled away on version 2.0 of the SDK, we posted a few betas. We wanted to get some early feedback on the upcoming changes and give our users the opportunity to start preparing for implementation. A migration guide is available that details the changes and provides some code snippets.

Also, there are references to source material scattered throughout this blog, and at the end of the post we’ve provided a list of those and other helpful resources.

Google Play Services v10

AerisWeather Android SDK v2.0 supports Google Play Services up to and including v10.0.1. The big take away from this change is that we now use the current Google Maps getMapAsync( ) function rather than the deprecated getMap( ) function. This requires changes to the way we wrap and initialize the AerisWeather Mapping Platform within our app. Read more on this in the SDK dev docs here.

New Package Prefix

To bring the Android libs more in line with our current corporate branding, the package prefix “hamweather”, is updated with “aerisweather”. All of the references to hamweather in the code and comments have been updated accordingly.

New Maven Repository

A new repository exists to provide access to the newly named Aerisweather packages and libraries. The new repo is located in the Central Repository under “com.aerisweather”. See the Maven Repository section of the Migration Guide for details.

AerisWeather Android SDK v2.0 Library Naming

Along with the renaming of the package prefix, we have also updated the naming of the libraries themselves to provide a more consistent feel and convention.

The following libraries and files have new names:

aeris-android-lib

is now

aeris-core-lib

aeris-maps-library

becomes

aeris-maps-lib

aeris-android-lib.jar

is now

aeris-core-lib.jar

Deprecated Methods

Make sure to note the deprecated methods throughout the code. Although they’re still supported at the moment they’ll be removed in future updates.

AerisWeather Mapping Platform (AMP)

Also in v2.0, all AerisWeather Mapping Platform (AMP) layers and layer modifiers available under your subscription tier are now supported from the AerisWeather Android SDK. For a full list of the layers and detailed info for each, check out the layers docs.

New Point Data Layer

Records Data
The records data set provides access to daily US records (RER) as transmitted by the National Weather Service (NWS). See the API endpoint docs for more info on the AerisWeather Records endpoint. Check out the details about using the Records point data layer with your Android map in the Migration Guide here.

New Polygon Layers

Convective Outlook
Firstly, the convective/outlook data provides convective outlook information based on the SPC convective outlooks. Coverage of this endpoint is for the US only.

Drought Monitor
Next we added the droughts/monitor endpoint data. This data provides access to the US drought monitor information from the National Drought Mitigation Center. Coverage of this endpoint is for the US only, and data is updated weekly.

Fires Outlook
Finally, the fires/outlook endpoint provides fire weather outlook information based on the SPC fire weather outlooks. Coverage of this endpoint is for the US only.

See more details regarding implementation of the new polygon layers in the Migration Guide here.

Demo App

So last but not least, the trusty Demo app is retooled to use the latest and greatest AerisWeather Android SDK v2.0. Feel free to use the open source app and code to get insight into implementation details, etc.