DCR Static Android SDK

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

Prerequisites

To start using the App SDK, the following items are required:

	Item	Description	Source
☑	App ID (appid)	Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product.	Contact Nielsen
☑	sfcode	Environment that the SDK must point to	Contact Nielsen
☑	Nielsen SDK	Includes SDK libraries and sample implementation; See Android SDK Release Notes	Download

If you do not have any of these pre-requisites or if you have any questions, please contact our SDK sales support team. Refer to Digital Measurement Onboarding guide for more information on how to get a Nielsen App SDK and appid.

Import Library

Refer to Android SDK API Reference - Setting Up Development Environment for information on importing libraries.

• The latest version of App SDK allows instantiating multiple instances of App SDK object and can be used simultaneously without any issues.

Note: The latest version of App SDK contains only appsdk.jar file and does not feature any native shared libraries like libAppSdk.so.

Note: The integrator should always tag the landing page on the app.

Initialize SDK

Initialize App SDK as soon as the application is launched. Refer to Initalization for details on initializing an AppSDK object and the parameters required.

Configure API calls - play

For static <App Measurement> content, play API is not required.

Configure API calls - loadMetadata

Use loadMetadata to pass 'content' Digital Measurement Metadata. The CMS data must be passed as a JSON object.

    loadMetadata(JSONObject jsonMetadata);

Refer to Digital Measurement Metadata for the list of parameters to be passed in the JSON object.

Note: The loadMetadata call must have ("type": "static").

Configure API calls - playheadPosition

For static <App Measurement> content, no playhead has to be supplied to the SDK.

stop

For static <App Measurement> content, stop API is not required.

API Call sequence

Call loadMetadata with JSON metadata as below.

    new JSONObject()
        .put("type", "static")
        .put("section", "siteSection")
        .put("assetid", "vid345-67483")
        .put("segA", "segmentA")
        .put("segB", "segmentB")
        .put("segC","segmentC")
    }

Handling Foreground and Background states

There are a few approaches to managing the Foreground and Background states of an app available to use for state measurement.

• Utilizing the Androidx LifeCycleObserver (The recommended approach starting sdk version 7.1.0.0+)
• Utilizing the SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class
• Adding a tag to the Manifest XML
• Manual Management

The LifeCycleObserver

AndroidX replaces the original support library APIs with packages in the androidx namespace, and Android Studio 3.2 and higher provides an automated migration tool. (Select Refactor> Migrate to AndroidX from the menu bar.)

Starting with version 7.1.0, with AndroidX support, an additional utility is provided in the AppSDK - application background/foreground state detection by the AppSdk leveraging the Android Architecture component "LifeCycleObserver".

The AppSdk is now capable of detecting the application UI visibility state transitions between background and foreground, without forcing the applications to register for AppSdk's AppSdkApplication class, which is responsible for handling the detection of application background/foreground state transitions at present.

Please note, that if you already have an app designed that utilizes the depreciated SdkBgFgDetectionUtility Class, the AppSDK will ignore any calls to these methods if it can utilize the LifeCycleObserver. LifeCycleObserver based auto detection will take precedence.

Adding the AndroidX dependency

In order to make use of the app background/foreground state transition auto detection feature of AndroidX AppSdk, the app gradle file needs the androidx dependency. The AppSdk API calls - appInForeground() and appInBackground() will still be respected by AppSdk by executing the old AppSdk flow of handling "app in foreground" and "app in background" states as is.

Using the LifeCycle Extension

The following androidx dependency is required in the app gradle file:

implementation "androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-extensions:2.1.0"

If you would like to take advantage of this auto detection feature of AppSdk at the very initial stage (e.g. splash screen or at of app launch time), before the AppSdk is initialized, can do so by calling the following newly introduced AppSdk public api, passing the application context :

public static void registerLifeCycleObserver(Context applicationContext)

Log messages for the new auto detection

When the AppSdk app successfully registers for the LifeCycleObserver : Registered LifeCycleObserver for App Background/Foreground auto-detection

• When the app enters the foreground state :App is in foreground, auto detected by AppSDK
• When the app enters the background state :App is in background, auto detected by AppSDK
• If the client app doesn't have the "androidx" gradle dependency and AppSdk fails to register LifeCycleObserver :AndroidX LifecycleObserver can not be observed. Please use androidx dependency to activate SDK auto-detection of app background/foreground state.
• When the appInForeground() is explicitly called while LifeCycleObserver auto detection is active :Ignoring the appInBackground() call, as the App Background/Foreground auto-detection is active. The current state is - foreground
• When the appInBackground() is explicitly called while LifeCycleObserver auto detection is active :Ignoring the appInBackground() call, as the App Background/Foreground auto-detection is active. The current state is - background

The SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class

Foreground/Background state measurement is a requirement of Nielsen AppSDK implementation which is especially crucial for static measurement. It may be implemented in multiple ways for Android. This includes

• Enable the Nielsen SDK to measure background/foreground state by makingthe relevant update to the AndroidManifest.
• Integrate Nielsen’s SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class within your Custom Application Class.
• Custom implementation of the required methods within your application.

ForeGround/Background Measurement via AndroidManifest

The simplest way to measure the app background/foreground state is to add the following application tag to the Manifest XML. Integrating this into the Manifest XML will enable the SDK to measure app state directly. This approach is supported for Android 4.0 and up only; it requires that the application class is not in use for some other purpose.

<application android:name="com.nielsen.app.sdk.AppSdkApplication">

Using the Android SdkBgFbDetectionUtility Class

For developers who are already using the application class, it is recommended that background/foreground state is implemented using the SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class. The SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class is compatible with Android 4+ and has been made available to Nielsen clients. (You will need to copy/paste the code provided into a file).

Manual Background/ForeGround State Management

In cases where the developer is not able to use the AndroidManifest.xml solution nor the Nielsen provided SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class the developer will need to manually identify the change of state through the application and call the respective API (appInForeground() or appInBackground()) to inform the SDK regarding the change of state from background to foreground or foreground to background.

The SDK is informed about app state using the below methods.

AppLaunchMeasurementManager.appInForeground(getApplicationContext());
AppLaunchMeasurementManager.appInBackground(getApplicationContext());

Within the lifecycle of individual activities, onResume() and onPause() are best suited to providing indication of the app state.

Correct measurement of the foreground/background state is crucial to Static App measurement within Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (DCR).

Nielsen Measurement Opt-Out Implementation

As a global information and measurement leader, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of the data we collect, process and use. Our digital measurement products are not used to identify the consumer in any way, but they help us and our clients measure and analyze how consumers engage with media across online, mobile and emerging technologies, and offer insights into consumer behavior.

• When the app user wants to opt in or opt out of Nielsen measurement, a new dynamic page (with content string obtained from optOutURL) should be displayed.
• Use optOutStatus to retrieve the device’s Opt-Out status.
• This Opt-out page should be displayed in a webview (within the app) and not in any external browser.
• Capture the user’s selection in this page and pass it to the SDK through userOptOut for Nielsen to save the user’s preference.
• For more details, refer to Android SDK API Reference - Android Opt-Out Implementation and Nielsen Digital Privacy.

Pre-Certification Checklists

After the application is ready to be sent for Nielsen Certification, please go through the Pre-Certification Checklist and ensure the app behaves as expected, before submitting to Nielsen.

Testing an Implementation - App

See Digital Measurement Testing.