752542 - New native Android build with bumped versionCode

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Release Engineering :: Release Automation, defect)

Description

[Aki Sasaki (not active)]

We've found that Google Play will attempt to update any app that's in the market, regardless of whether it was installed through the market.

Changing the app name would fragment our audience and force us to maintain multiple app names in perpetuity.
Changing the signature would do the same.
We're guessing that having a much higher versionCode (starting with 2112 instead of 2012) would do the trick: Google Play would check to see if it should update the app, but it wouldn't provide an update.

Since we need a build with the standard versionCode to put into GP and a build with an bumped versionCode for the website's single locale repacks, the easiest way to do this is probably with a second native Android build.

Comment 1

[Aki Sasaki (not active)]

This build also needs to ping AUS.
I'm not entirely sure what overrides what, but http://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-aurora/file/1f09cf3138b5/mobile/android/branding/beta/configure.sh clears MOZ_UPDATER.

Comment 2

[Aki Sasaki (not active)]

(In reply to Aki Sasaki [:aki] from comment #1)
> This build also needs to ping AUS.
> I'm not entirely sure what overrides what, but
> http://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-aurora/file/1f09cf3138b5/mobile/
> android/branding/beta/configure.sh clears MOZ_UPDATER.

Build logs indicate that MOZ_UPDATER=1, so no worry here.

Comment 3

[Aki Sasaki (not active)]

We can get the newer versionCode by:

1) build native Android
2) edit OBJDIR/mobile/android/base/AndroidManifest.xml
# android:versionCode="2012050301" -> android:versionCode="2112050301"
3) cd OBJDIR
4) PATH=/tools/jdk6/bin:$PATH make package
5) grab OBJDIR/dist/fennec/AndroidManifest.xml (new binary manifest).

This can be placed into the apk via

zip -u fennec-VERSION.en-US.android-arm.apk AndroidManifest.xml

then re-sign.  Then we can l10n repack that apk.

Comment 4

[Aki Sasaki (not active)]

Our user experience for web downloads has been ruled out as a not good option.
Marking as incomplete; this may be wanted later but only if the multilocale option craters aiui.