49 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
49 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
page.title=Overview
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@jd:body
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<p>
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Google Play services is a platform delivered by the Google Play Store that offers integration with Google products,
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such as Google+, in Android apps. The Google Play services platform consists of a services component that runs on
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the device and a thin client library that you package with your app. The following diagram shows the interaction
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between the two components:
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</p>
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<img src="{@docRoot}images/play-services-diagram.png" />
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<p>
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The Google Play services component is delivered as an APK through the Google Play Store, so
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updates to Google Play services are not dependent on carrier or OEM system image updates. Newer
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devices will also have Google Play services as part of the device's system image, but updates
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are still pushed to these newer devices through the Google Play Store. In general, devices
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running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later that have the Google Play Store receive updates within a
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few days. This allows you to leverage the newest APIs for Google products and reach most of the
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devices in the Android ecosystem. Devices older than Android 2.2 or devices without the Google
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Play Store app are not supported.
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</p>
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<p>
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The Google Play services component contains much of the logic to communicate with the specific
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Google product that you want to interact with. An easy-to-use authentication flow is also
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provided to gain access to supported Google products, which provides consistency for both the
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developer and user. From the developer's point of view, requesting credentials is mostly taken
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care of by the services component through calls to the client library. From the user's point of
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view, authorization is granted with a few simple clicks.
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</p>
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<p>
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The client library contains the interfaces to call into the services component. It also contains
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APIs that allow you to resolve any issues at runtime such as a missing, disabled, or out-of-date
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Google Play services APK. The client library has a light footprint if you use
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ProGuard as part of your build process, so it won't have an adverse impact on your app's file size. See the
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<a href="{@docRoot}google/play-services/overview.html">Downloading and Configuring the Google Play services SDK</a> for more
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information on how to configure
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<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/proguard.html">ProGuard</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you want to access added features or products that are periodically added to the client
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library, you can upgrade to a new version as they are released. However, upgrading is not
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necessary if you don't care about new features or bug fixes in the new versions of the client
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library. We anticipate more Google services to be continuously added, so be on the lookout for
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these updates.
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</p> |