Preparing APK files for the QNX platform

Before you can use the runtime for your APK applications, you must first repackage the applications into the BAR file format.

Packaging workflow

Once you have the debugged and tested your .apk app, and have it working as it should, you'll need to do the following:

  1. Check the compatibility of the app for QNX platforms. To do this, use the apk2bar validation tool which comes with the Runtime for APK.

    This validation step is essential, because some APIs that are specific to mobile devices or SMS aren't relevant to QNX platforms, and hence are not supported.

  2. When you have ensured that you app is compatible with QNX platforms, you can use the command-line tools provide with the QNX Runtime for APK to re-package your app in the BAR file format.

    Note:

    There's no need to sign your BAR files to use with QNX platforms.

  3. Copy the .bar app file to the QNX target board for installation. Once installed, you can test your app with the use of the debugger, adb.

Figure 1. Workflow to prepare APK application

The diagram above shows the tasks involved in preparing APK applications to run on a QNX platform.