Introduction to the AboutLibraries Project
Overview
AboutLibraries is a powerful tool designed for developers who want to manage their project's dependencies effectively, especially in terms of license management. The project collects comprehensive details about all dependencies, including their licenses, during the compile time of the app. It offers simple APIs that allow developers to visualize this information within their application. The main advantage is that it imposes no runtime overhead and boasts strong caching capabilities, ensuring seamless integration without impacting application performance. Moreover, AboutLibraries supports any Gradle dependency which makes it very versatile.
Features
Multi-Platform and Lightweight Core Module
AboutLibraries is built with Kotlin Multiplatform support, including WebAssembly (wasm), which makes it adaptable to various platforms. The core module is lightweight, granting access to all generated information, which can be used to build custom user interfaces.
Compose UI Module
This module supports Compose UI, making it easy to integrate visually appealing ways to display dependency information within apps.
Gradle Plugin
One of the standout features of AboutLibraries is its Gradle Plugin, which automates the generation of dependency and license metadata. It also includes different export options and compliance reports. The Gradle Plugin helps identify potential project funding sources and operates under a stringent license strict mode.
Ease of Integration
AboutLibraries is designed to be simple and fast to integrate into any project. It does not add a burden at runtime, thanks to efficient compile-time operations.
What's Included
- Support for Kotlin Multiplatform, including wasm.
- A lightweight multiplatform core module allowing access to generated information and custom UI creation.
- Compose UI module for integrating dependency information visually.
- A robust Gradle Plugin capable of generating metadata, exporting various reports, and identifying funding avenues.
- Simple integration processes to ensure quick and effective setup.
Setup and Usage
Latest Releases
AboutLibraries is continuously updated to support the latest in Kotlin, Multiplatform, Compose, and Plugin architectures, currently at version 11.2.3.
Using the Gradle Plugin
AboutLibraries v10 revamped the plugin, bringing in build cache support. It includes all dependencies directly found via Gradle configurations. The plugin is available on Gradle Plugins.
To use the plugin, developers have several approaches to incorporate it into their projects. For single modules or the entire project, they can use the plugin DSL in their build.gradle files. Legacy plugin application methods are also supported.
Configuration
Developers can customize configurations and adjustments for automatic detection. This flexibility makes the tool adaptable to different project needs, with options for excluding certain metadata fields, enabling or disabling network checks, and more.
Customizing Libraries and Licenses
The AboutLibraries plugin allows for adding or modifying libraries and licenses through JSON files. Developers can provide additional libraries or alter existing ones by ensuring JSON file consistency with unique identifiers.
Conclusion
AboutLibraries is a comprehensive and efficient tool for managing application dependencies and licenses, ensuring developers can comply with legal requirements without hassle. Its multiplatform support and easy integration make it an ideal choice for modern application development across a variety of environments.