Implementing Firebase Invites On Android

Introduction

 

In this article, I am going to demonstrate how to implement Firebase Invites on Android. Firebase Invites is a solution for app referrals and sharing via email or SMS.

 

Firebase

 

Firebase is a back-end tool offered by Google for mobile and web applications. It offers Analytics, Cloud Messaging, Real-time Database, Storage, Remote Configuration, Notification, Crash Reporting, API’s, Multiple Authentication types, Hosting, Dynamic Links, and Invites. Google Firebase helps to develop the application rapidly.

 

Requirements

• Android Studio.
• Google Account.

Creating a Project

 

Open Android Studio and create a new project.

 

Login to Google Firebase and create a new project in the console.

 

 

After creating the project, select “Add Firebase to your Android app” in the Firebase Overview page.

 

 

After adding an application, give your Android application a package name, App nickname, debug signing certificate SHA-1, and hit the "REGISTER APP" button.

 

 

Now, download the Google-Services.json file and add it in the app folder of your application.

 

Adding Dependencies

 

We need to add dependencies for Google Services and Firebase Invites. 

 

Add the dependencies plug-in to App Gradle for Google Firebase Invites.

compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-invites:10.0.1'

Add Gradle plug-in (build.gradle(app)) at the end of the code.

apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'

Add classpath plug-in to the project gradle.

classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:3.0.0'

Creating Layout

 

Now, go to the activity_main.xml and paste the below code. 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:id="@+id/activity_main"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    tools:context="io.github.saravanan_selvaraju.firebaseinvites.MainActivity">
    <TextView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:text="@string/msg_txt"
        android:textSize="28dp"
        android:padding="10dp"
        android:layout_margin="10dp"/>
    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="vertical"
        android:layout_gravity="center"
        android:layout_margin="15dp"
        android:padding="15dp">
        <Button
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:id="@+id/invie_btn"
            android:background="@color/colorPrimary"
            android:text="@string/invite_txt"
            android:textColor="@android:color/white"
            android:textStyle="bold"/>

    </LinearLayout>

</LinearLayout>

Creating Activity

 

Write the below code inside “button onclick listener()” method for sending invitations.

private void onInviteClicked() {
Intent intent = new AppInviteInvitation.IntentBuilder(getString(R.string.invitation_title))
            .setMessage(getString(R.string.invitation_message))
            .build();
    startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_INVITE);
}

Add String Resources in string.xml file.

<resources>
    <string name="invitation_title">Firebase Invite</string>
    <string name="invitation_message">Hey there, I found a app....</string>
</resources>

This onActivityResult() method calls back the MainActivity after the user sends an invite.

protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
    Log.d(TAG, "onActivityResult: requestCode=" + requestCode + ", resultCode=" + resultCode);

    if (requestCode == REQUEST_INVITE) {
        if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
            String[] ids = AppInviteInvitation.getInvitationIds(resultCode, data);
            for (String id : ids) {
                Log.d(TAG, "onActivityResult: sent invitation " + id);
            }
        } else {
        }
    }
}

MainActivity.java

package io.github.saravanan_selvaraju.firebaseinvites;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.support.annotation.NonNull;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import com.google.android.gms.appinvite.AppInvite;
import com.google.android.gms.appinvite.AppInviteInvitation;
import com.google.android.gms.common.ConnectionResult;
import com.google.android.gms.common.api.GoogleApiClient;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
 private static final int REQUEST_INVITE = 100;
 private static final String TAG = MainActivity.class.getSimpleName();
 private Button Invite_btn;
 @Override
 protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
  super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
  setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
  Invite_btn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.invie_btn);
  Invite_btn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
   @Override
   public void onClick(View view) {
    onInviteClicked();
   }
  });
 }
 private void onInviteClicked() {
  Intent intent = new AppInviteInvitation.IntentBuilder(getString(R.string.invitation_title)).setMessage(getString(R.string.invitation_message)).build();
  startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_INVITE);
 }
 @Override
 protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
  super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
  Log.d(TAG, "onActivityResult: requestCode=" + requestCode + ", resultCode=" + resultCode);
  if (requestCode == REQUEST_INVITE) {
   if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
    String[] ids = AppInviteInvitation.getInvitationIds(resultCode, data);
    for (String id: ids) {
     Log.d(TAG, "onActivityResult: sent invitation " + id);
    }
   } else {}
  }
 }
}

Adding Permission

 

Don’t forget to add internet access permissions in androidmanifest.xml.

uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

         

 

Summary

 

In this article, we discussed what Google Firebase is, and how to use Firebase Invites in Android applications.