android-simple-camera: A Java repository from ASK Community Systems

#Simple Camera

For our app TeamUp, we needed complete control over the camera, due to a highly demanding privacy requirement. An implementation on top of the cwac-camera library, created by Mark Murphy.

You can also read the blog post, with a more tutorial like example.

##Usage

To add this lib as a dependency:

Pull this repository to tyou local machine git clone https://github.com/askcs/android-simple-camera
Install the project into your local repository (assuming you have a repository) gradlew install. The project is build and uploaded to your local repository.
Use the project as a dependency

Gradle

compile 'com.askcs:android-simple-camera:1.2-snapshot'

Maven

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.askcs</groupId>
  <artifactId>android-simple-camera</artifactId>
  <version>(insert latest version)</version>
  <type>apklib</type>
</dependency>

This implementation is built around the CameraFragment. The CameraFragment is wrapped in an Activity, together with a Builder class, that only reveals a couple of the options of the SimpleCameraHost. This is done to keep it simple.

Request Camera and Mirophone Permissions

If your project is targeting API 23+ or will be used on such devices, you have to request these permissions from the user.

Before using the library, make sure you have the appropriate permissions. You can do this anywhere in your application before accessing the camera.

####Example:

/* ... */
static final int PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE = 1;
boolean requestPermissions = false;
String[] permissions = new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA, Manifest.permission.RECORD_AUDIO};
for(String s : permissions)
	if(ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, s) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED)
		requestPermissions = true;
if(requestPermissions)
	ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, permissions, PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_CODE);

You should also check whether the user has consented to the request. See https://developer.android.com/training/permissions/requesting.html for further details.

###Using the Builder class The following snippet creates a new SimpleCameraActivity.Buidler object, chooses the back facing camera, selects the Size.AVATAR and gives no location. If no location is given, the picture will be saved in the cache folder of your app.

####Things to configure Call these methods on the SimpleCameraActivity.Builder to configure.

frontFacingCamera(boolean) Set to true to use the front facing camera. If the front facing camera is not available on the device, it will fall back on the back facing camera. Default false.

dir(File) Sets the directory where the picture/video should be saved. Default: context.getCacheDir().

filename(String) Sets the filename. Make sure NOT to include the file extension! A picture will always be JPEG, a video will always be MP4. Default: UUID.randomUUID().toString()

size(SimpleCameraFragment.Size) Sets the size of the picture that will be saved. The preview of the SimpleCameraFragment will be adjusted to this size. Default: Size.NORMAL

When done, build(Context) to get the Intent, or startForResult(Activity, int) to directly start the SimpleCameraActivity.

Also, a build(Context, Class) and startForResult(Activity, Class, int) are available, whenever you subclass SimpleCameraActivity.

####Example MyActivity.java

public class MyActivity extends Activity {

	public static final int PICTURE_CODE = 1337;

	// Left out framework callbacks and other stuff for readability

    public void onClick(View view) {
        
        new SimpleCameraActivity.Builder()
                .frontFacingCamera(false)
                .size(SimpleCameraFragment.Size.AVATAR)
                .startForResult(this, PICTURE_CODE);
    }
    
    @Override
    public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {

        // We'll need this, keep on reading...
    }
}

###Or via an Intent The following snippet creates a new Intent for SimpleCameraActivity. It chooses the back facing camera, selects the Size.NORMAL and gives the app cache directory as directory location and an earlier set filename.

#####Things to configure Include these extras in the Intent to configure the SimpleCameraActivity. You could also use the Builder to configure it, and than call .build(Context) on it to get the Intent.

EXTRA_START_WITH_FRONT_FACING_CAMERA boolean Set to true to use the front facing camera. If the front facing camera is not available on the device, it will fall back on the back facing camera. Default false.

EXTRA_DIR String Sets the directory where the picture/video should be saved. Default : context.getCacheDir().

EXTRA_FILENAME String The filename. Make sure NOT to include the file extension! A picture will always be JPEG, a video will always be MP4. Default: UUID.randomUUID().toString()

EXTRA_SIZE int Sets the size of the picture that will be saved. Use the .ordinal() of a SimpleCameraFragment.Size. If the found integer is not known as an ordinal of Size, the default is used. The preview of the SimpleCameraFragment will be adjusted to this size. Default: Size.NORMAL

####Example MyActivity.java

public class MyActivity extends Activity {

	public static final int PICTURE_CODE = 1337;

	// Left out framework callbacks and other stuff for readability

    public void onClick(View view) {
        
        Intent simpleCameraIntent = new Intent(context, SimpleCameraActivity.class)
                .putExtra(EXTRA_START_WITH_FRONT_FACING_CAMERA, frontFacingCamera)
                .putExtra(EXTRA_DIR, dir.getPath())
                .putExtra(EXTRA_FILENAME, fileName)
                .putExtra(EXTRA_SIZE, SimpleCameraFragment.Size.NORMAL.ordinal());
    }
    
    @Override
    public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {

        // We'll need this, keep on reading...
    }
}

###Handle the result in onActivityResult()

MyActivity.java

@Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {

    switch (requestCode) {
        case PICTURE_CODE:

            switch (resultCode) {

                case SimpleCameraActivity.RESULT_CODE_ACCEPTED:

                    // Hurray! The image / video was taken by the user and succesfully saved to the given location
                    // You can find the location using data.getStringExtra(SimpleCameraActivity.EXTRA_FILENAME)

                    break;

                case SimpleCameraActivity.RESULT_CODE_CANCELLED: // fall through allowed, has same message
                case SimpleCameraActivity.RESULT_CODE_REJECTED:
                    
                    // The user was not satisfied, or did not want to take photo after all.
                    // You could display a message that taking the photo / video was cancelled
                    
                    break;

                case SimpleCameraActivity.RESULT_CODE_ERROR:
                    
                    // Oh snap! Something went wrong! The photo / video is not saved, if it was taken by the user
                    
                    break;

                default:
                    // Meh, the CameraActivity did not invoke setResult(). Please report that with the reason as an issue on GitHub :)
            }

            break;
        default:
            Log.d(TAG, "Unknown request code: " + requestCode + ". Expected " + requestCode);
    }
}

Some notes:

A picture is always saved with a .jpg suffix
A video is always saved with a .mp4 suffix
The cwac-camera takes care of rotating the pictures the right way
Recording videos and switching the camera is currently disabled

###Styling

The following attributes are available in the SimpleCamera theme:

scButtonSwitchCameraStyle: Allows the user to switch front/back facing camera. Only when multiple cameras are available
scButtonTakePictureStyle: Button to take the actual picture
scButtonRecordVideoStyle: Button to start recording a video
scButtonStopRecordingStyle: Button to stop recording a video. Visible after record button is clicked
scButtonAcceptStyle: Button to accept the picture / video after it is taken
scButtonRejectStyle: Button to reject the picture / video after it is taken

Don't forget to set the theme in your manifest:

manifest.xml This is a part of the manifest. See the snippet at the top of the blog article for the complete manifest.

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >

  <application android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher" android:label="Your app">

    <!-- ... -->

    <activity android:name=".ui.activity.CameraActivity"
              android:icon="@drawable/ic_logo_team_up"
              android:theme="@style/Theme.SimpleCamera"/>

  </application>
</manifest>

Prerequisites

The following should be locally installed:

Git
Maven 3.0.3+
Android SDK

Get Up and Running

Install dependencies

The Android Support Library v13 and Google Maps v2 are needed by the TeamUp App, which are not in the central Maven repository. You need to install them using Android's SDK manager, and then use the maven-android-sdk-deployer to put these libraries in your local Maven repository.

Install Android Support Library v13

Start the SDK manager by doing:

$ANDROID_HOME/tools/android sdk

and install/update the Android Support Library v13 (it's located under Extras), and install everything under SDK API level 17.

And then install it to your local Maven repository:

cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/mosabua/maven-android-sdk-deployer.git
cd maven-android-sdk-deployer/extras/compatibility-v13
mvn install

###Clone this project

git clone https://github.com/askcs/android-simple-camera.git
cd team-up

###Create local.properties Inside the root folder, android-simple-camera/, create a file called local.properties and add a single entry to it:

sdk.dir=/path/to/your/local/android/sdk

###Install And install the library into your local maven repository

mvn clean install

##Using in your project

In your POM, add this library as a dependency. Note to add it as an apklib.

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.askcs</groupId>
  <artifactId>android-simple-camera</artifactId>
  <version>0.1-snapshot</version>
  <type>apklib</type>
</dependency>