"apkbuilder" Command - Packaging and Signing .apk File

This section describes that the 'apkbuilder' tool is used to package the .dex file with resource files into a .apk file and sign the .apk file. But no details on how the 'apkbuilder' tool is invoked.

When builder the debug version of an Android application, the "ant -verbose debug" command used the "apkbuilder" tool. It only the following 2 lines in the output:

-package:
[apkbuilder] Current build type is different than previous build:
             forced apkbuilder run.
[apkbuilder] Creating HelloAndroid-debug-unaligned.apk and signing
             it with a debug key...

So I have no clue on how the "apkbuilder" tool is invoked to package the .dex file with resource files into a single .apk file and how the .apk file is signed.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Installing JDK 1.8 on Windows System

 Installation of Android SDK R24 and Emulator

 Installing Apache Ant 1.9 on Windows System

 Developing First Android Application - HelloAndroid

 Android Application Package (APK) Files

 Android Debug Bridge (adb) Tool

 Android File Systems

 AboutAndroid - Application to Retrieve System Information

 android.app.Activity Class and Activity Lifecycle

 View Objects and Layout Resource Files

 Using "adb logcat" Command for Debugging

Build Process and Package File Content

 "android create project" Command Options

 Android Project Folder Structure

 Android Application Project Build Process

 Project Build Process Done by "ant debug" Command

 Detailed Output of "ant -verbose debug" Command

 Output of "ant -verbose debug" - Android SDK R17

 "aapt" - Android Asset Packaging Tool

 "aapt package" Command - Resource Code Generation

 "javac" - Java Compilation Command

 "dx.bat --dex" Command - Converting .class Files into .dex File

"apkbuilder" Command - Packaging and Signing .apk File

 "zipalign" Command - Aligning File Locations in .apk Package

 "aapt dump" Command - Printing Contents of .apk Package

 META-INF Files - Digests, Signature and Certificate

 Building Your Own Web Browser

 Android Command Line Shell

 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Mini Tablet

 USB Debugging Applications on Samsung Tablet

 Android Tablet - LG-V905R

 USB Debugging Applications on LG-V905R Tablet

 Android Phone - LG-P925g

 USB Debugging Applications on LG-P925g Phone

 Archived Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB