AAD Android Build System, Gradle & App Deployment 2

Question 1

What is an Android App Bundle (AAB) and how does it differ from an APK?

Accepted Answer

An AAB is processed by the Play Store to generate optimized APKs per device; APK is installed directly on devices

Answer

An AAB is installed directly on devices; APK is used only for local testing

Answer

Both AAB and APK install directly, but AAB supports more CPU architectures

Answer

An AAB is required only for Wear OS and Android TV apps

Question 2

What is the purpose of ProGuard/R8 in a release build?

Accepted Answer

To shrink, optimize, and obfuscate the app's bytecode

Answer

To generate the APK signing keystore automatically

Answer

To convert Kotlin source code to Java before compilation

Answer

To manage third-party library version conflicts

Question 3

Which Gradle dependency scope makes a library available at compile time but excludes it from the final APK?

Accepted Answer

compileOnly

Answer

implementation

Answer

api

Answer

runtimeOnly

Question 4

What must be changed before publishing an app update to the Google Play Store?

Accepted Answer

The `versionCode` must be incremented from the previously published release

Answer

The `versionName` must be set to a higher semantic version

Answer

A new keystore must be generated for each release submission

Answer

The app must be recompiled against a higher `compileSdkVersion`

Question 5

What is the purpose of `local.properties` in an Android project?

Accepted Answer

To store machine-specific configuration like the Android SDK path, excluded from version control

Answer

To define product flavors and build types for the project

Answer

To configure Gradle task dependency ordering

Answer

To specify the app's runtime permissions

Question 6

How does the `api` dependency configuration differ from `implementation` in Gradle?

Accepted Answer

`api` exposes the dependency to consumers of your library module; `implementation` keeps it internal

Answer

`api` dependencies are available only at runtime; `implementation` are compile-time only

Answer

`api` is used for test dependencies; `implementation` is for production code only

Answer

There is no functional difference; they are interchangeable

Question 7

What does `buildConfigField` in Gradle allow developers to do?

Accepted Answer

Inject a constant into the generated `BuildConfig` class accessible in app code at runtime

Answer

Configure the signing certificate for a specific build type

Answer

Define build-type-specific Gradle JVM arguments

Answer

Override default manifest values for a specific build variant