Android Web Service Client

Alexander Nelson
November 17, 2021
University of Arkansas - Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering
Java Interfaces
Java Interface

A Java Interface is a collection of related methods with empty

bodies

Typically, a class will implement an interface

This forces the programmer to implement certain methods so that
the class will be type safe
Example

Example Interface and implementing class

Retrofit
Retrofit – HTTP API for Java

Type-safe HTTP Client for Java

Builds API from a Java Interface
Each method is specified with an HTTP annotation and URL

Example:
public interface GitHubService {
@GET(“users/user/repos”)
Call<List<Repo>>listRepos(@Path(“user”) String user);
}
Retrofit Instance

Retrofit class generates an implementation of the API from the

defined interface

Retrofit retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()

.baseUrl(“https://api.github.com/”)
.build();
GitHubService service = retrofit.create(GitHubService.class)
Call Interface

Retrofit implements a generic type Call interface that:

• Performs HTTP requests

• Handles HTTP responses
• Deserializes responses into the Typed class

Example:
Call<List<Repo>> repos =
service.listRepos(“alexanderhnelson”);
Annotations

Interface annotations enable flexible behavior

Describes the HTTP Requests by:
• URL Parameter replacement
• Query parameter support
• Object conversion to request body
• Multipart request body and file upload
API Declaration

Every method must have an HTTP annotation that provides

1. Request method
2. Relative URL of the resource

Built-in request annotations:

• HEAD
• GET
• POST
• PUT
• DELETE
Specifying Parameters

Parameters may be specified in the URL

Example:
@GET(“users/list?sort=desc”)
URL Manipulation

URL can be updated dynamically using replacements and

parameters
A replacement block can be included in the URL
Replacement block defined by a string surrounded by curly braces
“{}”

Example:
@GET(”group/{id}/users”)
Call<List<User>> groupList(@Path(“id”) int groupId);
When this method is called, creates a GET request with the
specified ID
Query Parameters

Query Parameters can be added

(i.e. what shows up after the ? on a REST URL)

Example:
@GET(”group/id/users”)
Call<List<User>> groupList(@Path(“id”) int groupId,
@Query(“sort”) String sort);
Creates a GET at BASE URL/group/id/users?sort=(sort)
Creating Complex Queries

Complex queries can be created using a Map object

@GET(”group/id/users”)
Call<List<User>> groupList(@Path(“id”) int groupId,
@QueryMap Map<String, String> options);
Passing Objects

The HTTP Body can be specified using a Java Object with the
@Body tag

@POST(“users/new”)
Call<User> createUser(@Body User user);
Sending Form Encoded data

Methods can be declared to encode data in form-fields

Use @FormUrlEncoded tag with the HTTP Request

@FormUrlEncoded
@POST(“user/edit”)
Call<User> updateUser(@Field(“first name”) String first,
@Field(“last name”) String last);
Multipart Requests

Create Multipart requests using the @Multipart annotation

Add parts using the @Part annotation in the method definition

Example:
@Multipart
@PUT(”user/photo”)
Call<User> updateUser(@Part(“photo”) RequestBody photo,
@Part(“description”) RequestBody description);
Manipulating Headers

Set static headers for a method with the @Headers annotation

Example:
@Headers({
”Accept: application/vnd.github.v3.full+json”,
”User-Agent: Retrofit-Sample-App”
})
@GET(”users/{username}”)
Call<User> getUser(@Path(“username”) String username);
Dynamic Headers

Headers can be manipulated dynamically in the method definition

using the @Header tag

Example:
@GET(“user”)
Call<User> getUser(@Header(“Authorization”) String
authorization);
Common Headers

If all requests need the same headers

Use an OkHttp interceptor

https://github.com/square/okhttp/wiki/Interceptors
Retrofit Configuration

Conversion and deserialization

By default, Retrofil will only deseralize to a particular type
(OkHttp ResponseBody)

Allows for conversion to other types using a converter

For JSON, the GSON library is available
Retrofit retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()
.baseUrl(”my.api.url.com”)
.addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
.build();