Google IO Recap: Firebase, Jetpack, Kotlin, and R8

May 15, 2019 2434 Views Matt Insko

PreEmptive had the opportunity to send a couple of representatives to Google IO this year. IO 2019 didn't tell us what dessert starts with a Q, but it did showcase some great tools and frameworks as well as provide insight into the direction of Android:

Firebase and Jetpack speed up development and allow better compatibility with older platforms. Google reinforced its commitment to Kotlin stating that most of their samples and frameworks will be available first in Kotlin and later to standard Java. R8 is now the default for minification. Android will do more on-device processing to ensure better privacy.

At PreEmptive, we have similar goals:

Staying up-to-date with the latest features of Android development while maintaining compatibility with older platforms.
Support for Kotlin since DashO v8.3 (2017).
Support for R8.
On-device Checks which help protect application data.

The highlight of the trip was the ability for face-to-face meetings with Google employees. We were able to discuss what we have done to incorporate R8 with DashO's Gradle Plugin for Android (available with the DashO 10 Beta) and found we were on the same page regarding the direction of R8. We actually had a chance encounter with a developer who needed a specific piece of advice which we had already listed on The Unofficial R8 Documentation.

Overall, it was a great experience. There was a lot of information to cover in such a limited time. As in prior years, sessions were recorded and are available on YouTube. We recommend the following sessions as they provide a general overview of Android developments:

Latest Blog Posts

Integrating DashO into a Maven Build

Maven is perhaps the most widely-used project management tool for Java. Based on the Project Object Model (POM), it is used not only for compilation of source code, but also dependency management, documentation, running tests, packaging, deployment, and more. We are frequently asked if we have a Maven plugin for running DashO. Though we do not offer a specific Maven plugin, adding DashO to your Maven-based project is surprisingly easy by leveraging Ant.

In an already digital world, the Covid-19 pandemic forced society and businesses to adopt additional modes of technology and press on for more advanced application development. Business’ focus shifted to increased remote work collaboration, streamlined contact tracing work, and enhanced consumer e-commerce connections. With little knowledge on how much longer social distancing measures will be in place, more on-demand application development options are needed to successfully maintain workplace functionality.

Gabriel Torok, Founder and CEO of PreEmptive, recently authored an article as part of the Forbes Technology Council. In it, he describes four application trends that help predict emerging expectations for the future of enterprise.

Customers occasionally ask us about adding DashO, Dotfuscator, or JSDefender to their Docker-based build processes. We do not provide pre-built Docker containers for our products, but it is relatively straightforward to create your own containers with the distributions we do provide. Historically, setting up licensing for these containers could be a challenge, but with the recent addition of Floating license support to DashO, Dotfuscator, and JSDefender, even the licensing part is straightforward.

This blog provides example Dockerfiles for each product, as a starting point for building your own containers. You will need to replace {x.y[.z]} with the appropriate major.minor[.patch] version.

Read more

Navigating the Choice Between Security and Customer Experience

Navigating the Choice Between Security and Customer Experience

Chances are, if you’ve used a mobile banking app, or bought something online, your purchase was facilitated in part by a Fiserv product. Fiserv is a global provider of financial services technology. Clients include banks, credit unions, financial companies and retailers. As a Fintech company, Fiserv provides payment and commerce enabling technology to clients in more than 100 countries, serving as an “industry standard” across the world.

In a recent article “2020 Trends in Fraud and Financial Crime Risk Management” Andrew Davies – Fiserv’s VP of Global Market Strategy writes “Criminals are even more on the offensive, constantly researching new vulnerabilities and developing fresh attack vectors. For financial institutions, that's spurred growth in both process and technology investments to keep pace.” The question that Fiserv and many other financial institutions are asking: “How do you accurately manage detecting financial crime without inhibiting the customer experience?”

“Better licensing means more flexibility,” said CTO Bill Leach during a recent presentation on the release of DashO 11 - PreEmptive’s Android and Java Protection Product. “The new floating license and product activation features allow users to provision DashO on the fly – for example, on cloud hosted build agents that don’t already have DashO preinstalled. By specifying the license key at run time, development teams can more easily automate their builds, no matter where they run.”

Revamped licensing and activation are not the only updates in this latest version—other highlights include:

Google IO Recap: Firebase, Jetpack, Kotlin, and R8

Integrating DashO into a Maven Build

Post Covid-19: 4 Application Trends You Need to Know

Dockerize PreEmptive's Products using Floating License

Navigating the Choice Between Security and Customer Experience

DashO 11 Release: Licensing, Bug Fixes, and Improved Functionality

Latest Blog Posts

GlobalMed Finds Success by Switching to JSDefender

Integrating DashO into a Maven Build

Post Covid-19: 4 Application Trends You Need to Know

Dockerize PreEmptive's Products using Floating License

Navigating the Choice Between Security and Customer Experience

Twitter