Thanks for contributing :)
The application uses Gradle and can be used with Android Studio, but using Android Studio is not required. The build dependencies are:
- OpenJDK 17
- Android SDK: build tools (minimum
28.0.1
), platform30
Python 3 is required to update generated files but not to build the app.
For Android Studio users, no more setup is needed.
For Nix users, the right environment can be obtained with nix-shell ./shell.nix
.
Instructions to install Nix are here.
If you don't use Android Studio or Nix, you have to inform Gradle about the location of your Android SDK by either:
- Setting the
ANDROID_HOME
environment variable to point to the android sdk or - Creating the file
local.properties
and writingsdk.dir=<location_of_android_home>
into it.
Building the debug apk:
./gradlew assembleDebug
Nix users can call gradle directly: gradle assembleDebug
.
If the build succeeds, the debug apk is located in build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk
.
First Enable adb debugging on your device. Then connect your phone to your computer using an USB cable or via wireless debugging.
If you use Android Studio, this process will be automatic and you don't have to follow this guide anymore.
And finally, install the application with:
./gradlew installDebug
The released version of the application won't be removed, both versions will be installed at the same time.
./gradlew installDebug
can fail with the following error message:
FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':installDebug'.
> java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.testing.api.DeviceException: com.android.ddmlib.InstallException: INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Existing package juloo.keyboard2.debug signatures do not match newer version; ignoring!
The application can't be "updated" because the temporary certificate has been lost. The solution is to uninstall and install again. The application must be enabled again in the settings.
adb uninstall juloo.keyboard2.debug
./gradlew installDebug
It's possible to specify the signing certificate that the automated build
should use.
After you successfully run ./gradlew asssembleDebug
, (thus a debug.keystore
exists) you can use this second command to generate a base64 stringified
version of it:
gpg -c --armor --pinentry-mode loopback --passphrase debug0 --yes "debug.keystore"
This will create the file debug.keystore.asc
, paste its content into a new
Github secret named DEBUG_KEYSTORE
.
Layouts are defined in XML, see srcs/layouts/latn_qwerty_us.xml
.
An online tool for editing layout files written by @Lixquid is available
here.
Makes sure to specify the name
attribute like in latn_qwerty_us.xml
,
otherwise the layout won't be added to the app.
The layout file must be placed in the srcs/layouts
directory and named
according to:
- script (
latn
for latin, etc..) - layout name (eg. the name of a standard)
- country code (or language code if more adequate)
Then, run ./gradlew genLayoutsList
to add the layout to the app.
The last step will update the file res/values/layouts.xml
, that you should
not edit directly.
Run ./gradlew checkKeyboardLayouts
to check some properties about your
layout. This will change the file check_layout.output
, which you should
commit.
Layouts are CC0 licensed by default. If you do not want your layout to be
released into the public domain, add a copyright notice at the top of the file
and a mention in srcs/layouts/LICENSE
.
A programming layout must contain all ASCII characters. The current programming layouts are: QWERTY, Dvorak and Colemak.
See for example, Dvorak, added in Julow#16
It's best to leave free spots on the layout for language-specific symbols that
are added automatically when necessary.
These symbols are defined in res/xml/method.xml
(extra_keys
).
It's possible to place extra keys with the loc
prefix. These keys are
normally hidden unless they are needed.
Some users cannot easily type the characters close the the edges of the screen due to a bulky phone case. It is best to avoid placing important characters there (such as the digits or punctuation).
Localized layouts (a layout specific to a language) are gladly accepted. See for example: 4333575 (Bulgarian), 88e2175 (Latvian), 133b6ec (German).
They don't need to contain every ASCII characters (although it's useful in passwords) and dead-keys.
Supported locales are defined in res/xml/method.xml
.
The attributes languageTag
and imeSubtypeLocale
define a locale, the
attribute imeSubtypeExtraValue
defines the default layout and the dead-keys
and other extra keys to show.
The list of language tags (generally two letters)
and locales (generally of the form xx_XX
)
can be found in this stackoverflow answer
The text used in the app is written in res/values-<language_tag>/strings.xml
.
The list of language tags can be found in this stackoverflow answer
The first part before the _
is used, for example,
res/values-fr/strings.xml
for French,
res/values-lv/strings.xml
for Latvian.
Commented-out lines indicate missing translations:
<!-- <string name="pref_layouts_add">Add an alternate layout</string> -->
Remove the <!--
and -->
parts and change the text.
The res/values-<language_tag>/strings.xml
file must be created by copying the
default translation in res/values/strings.xml
, which contain the structure of
the file and the English strings.
To check that strings.xml
is formatted correctly, run
python sync_translations.py
. This will modify your files.
Store descriptions in fastlane/metadata/android/
are updated automatically.
Translating changelogs is not useful.
The app name might be partially translated, the "Unexpected" word should remain untranslated if possible.
As translations need to be updated regularly, you can subscribe to this issue to receive a notification when an update is needed: Julow#373
New Compose sequences can be added into srcs/compose/compose/extra.json
.
If a entirely new family of sequences were to be added, a new .json
file can
be created in the same directory to host them.
Key combinations are defined in srcs/juloo.keyboard2/KeyModifier.java
.
For example, keys modified by the Fn
key are defined in method
apply_fn_char
.
Keys with special meaning are defined in KeyValue.java
in method
getKeyByName
. Their special action are defined in KeyEventHandler.java
in
method key_up