Android SDK Upgrade

Engineering Portal / Digital / DCR & DTVR / Android SDK Upgrade

The Nielsen AppSDK can either be downloaded directly from the Engineering Portal, or can be integrated directly within an application through the use of a CocoaPod or Gradle.

How to install the Nielsen AppSDK using Gradle for Android

Below are the steps which need to be performed by app developers to integrate the Nielsen App SDK within an Android application.

Add Nielsen Maven Repository

Please add the Nielsen maven repository inside the repositories section of your app's module build.gradle file like below:

repositories {
   //Copy below code inside repository section of app’s build.gradle file
maven { url 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NielsenDigitalSDK/nielsenappsdk-android/master/'
            }

Starting on Sept 21, 2021 the Nielsen SDK has moved to a public repository. Credentials are no longer required.

Add gradle dependency

Please add Nielsen app SDK as compile time dependency inside build.gradle file as below

grade 4.x and above

For gradle version starting with 4.x add the following line inside dependencies section of build.gradle file.

implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:${market}:${version}'

dependencies { ....
implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:globalx:+'  // Using + will provide the latest version
}

grade prior to 4.x

For gradle version previous to 4.x add below line inside dependencies section of build.gradle file.

compile 'com.nielsenappsdk:${market}:${version}'

dependencies { ....
compile 'com.nielsenappsdk:globalx:+'  // Using + will provide the latest version
}

Version and Flavor Control

With version 8.1.0.0+ of the Nielsen appSDK, it is possible to request a specific ${flavor} that reads the Google Ad ID, Android ID, or is Kid app friendly (noID). For example:

implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:${market}:${flavor}:${version}'

• if the flavor selected is equal to ad the Nielsen SDK will try to obtain the googleAdID if the user has not opted out.
• If the flavor is noad then the Nielsen SDK will attempt to obtain the AndroidID.
• If the flavor selected is noid then the Nielsen SDK will not request any identifier which is required for many kid apps.

To ensure backward compatability, implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:${market}:${version}' will continue to be supported.

SDK Version	${market}	${flavor}	${version}	Examples
Appsdk 8.1.0.0+	global agf	ad noad noid	+ is most recent version 8.1.0.0	'com.nielsenappsdk:global:ad:+' 'com.nielsenappsdk:global:noad:+' 'com.nielsenappsdk:global:noad:8.1.0.0'
AppSDK 7 to 8.0.0.0	globalx global agf agfx	not used	+ is most recent version 7.1.0.0 8.0.0.0	'com.nielsenappsdk:globalx:+' 'com.nielsenappsdk:global:8.0.0.0' 'com.nielsenappsdk:agf:8.0.0.0'

If using version control, a warning message will be displayed within the console trace during the build of your app, and it will show all sdk versions released to-date, allowing a developer to select a more recent build if desired.

Starting with Version 8.x, the Nielsen SDK will only support Androidx.

Ensuring you have the latest release information

It is recommended to use + for ${version} to ensure you receive the most recent version of the NielsenSDK; however, if you are specifying the exact version of the SDK, please use only the first 3 digits. EG: 8.1.0

A sample if using AppSDK 8.1.0.0 + would be:

dependencies { ....
implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:global:ad:+'
}

If using AppSDK 7 to 8.0.0.0

dependencies { ....
implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk:globalx:8.0.0'
}

In addition, please add below gradle task inside your build.gradle (Module:app) or build.gradle(Project:My-app) file to fetch latest release details of nielsen app sdk as below:

Please note: The build.gradle (Module:app) can overwrite the build.gradle(Project:My-app).

task NielsenSdkReleaseCheck {
   def p = ['curl', "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NielsenDigitalSDK/nielsenappsdk-android/master/com/nielsenappsdk/global/NielsenAppSdk-ReadMe.md"].execute().text
   project.logger.log(LogLevel.ERROR,p)
}
preBuild.dependsOn('NielsenSdkReleaseCheck')

App Suffix Reference

The Nielsen AppSDK has various configurations per market and distribution type, which can be determined by reviewing the sdk suffix. The first part will be the SDK version: 3 digits for the major SDK version and 1 digit for the minor SDK version. EG: aa.8.1.0.0_abc

Sync

If you are finished with all previous steps then you can sync your build.gradle and after successful build you are ready to use Nielsen App SDK library in your code.

Sample file

The below is an example of a very basic app build.gradle file

plugins {
    id 'com.android.application'
}

android {
    compileSdkVersion 30
    buildToolsVersion "30.0.3"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.nielsen.simplestandardandroidart"
        minSdkVersion 23
        targetSdkVersion 30
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"

        testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
    repositories {
        //Copy below code inside repository section of app’s build.gradle file
        maven { url 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NielsenDigitalSDK/nielsenappsdk-android/master/'
        }
    }
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }
}

dependencies {

    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.2.0'
    implementation 'com.google.android.material:material:1.1.0'
    implementation 'androidx.constraintlayout:constraintlayout:2.0.4'
    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.+'
    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.ext:junit:1.1.2'
    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.3.0'
    implementation 'androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-extensions:2.2.0'
    implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:20.3.0'
    implementation 'com.nielsenappsdk.global:ad:+'
}

task NielsenSdkReleaseCheck {
    def p = ['curl',"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NielsenDigitalSDK/nielsenappsdk-android/master/com/nielsenappsdk/global/NielsenAppSdk-ReadMe.md"].execute().text
    project.logger.log(LogLevel.ERROR,p)
}
preBuild.dependsOn('NielsenSdkReleaseCheck')