bug: Crashlytics + Android Runtime 5.0 incompatible

[DickSmith]

I'm still narrowing this one down, but since the RC and even up to the full release of {N} 5.0, I have been unable to get the app to run consistently with the 5.0 Android Runtime enbaled.

Essentially when live-syncing with Crashlytics enabled on the app (even with 0 actual calls to any of its methods) and when using the Android Runtime 5.0, the app will launch and then will just sit on the launch screen, with the emulator or device still expending significant processing (and getting warm).

The {N} CLI will never actually attach, and will then timeout.

If you then open adb shell then logcat you will see this loop (not sure where it "starts" but you can see where it will repeat; p.client.mobil is the app package name, that gets truncated for some reason):

11-07 11:06:53.387 13593 13593 D TNS.Native: JNI_ONLoad
11-07 11:06:53.387 13593 13593 D TNS.Native: JNI_ONLoad END
11-07 11:06:53.425 13593 13604 I p.client.mobil: Background concurrent copying GC freed 10376(1100KB) AllocSpace objects, 6(120KB) LOS objects, 50% free, 1877KB/3MB, paused 2.030ms total 104.818ms
11-07 11:06:53.485 13593 13593 W p.client.mobil: Accessing hidden field Ljava/lang/Boolean;->value:Z (light greylist, JNI)
11-07 11:06:53.516 13593 13593 D TNS.Native: V8 version 6.9.427.23
11-07 11:06:52.023 13509 13509 F libc    : /usr/local/google/buildbot/src/android/ndk-release-r17/external/libcxx/../../external/libcxxabi/src/abort_message.cpp:73: abort_message: assertion "terminating with uncaught exception of type tns::NativeScriptException" failed
11-07 11:06:53.521 13593 13593 F libc    : /usr/local/google/buildbot/src/android/ndk-release-r17/external/libcxx/../../external/libcxxabi/src/abort_message.cpp:73: abort_message: assertion "terminating with uncaught exception of type tns::NativeScriptException" failed
11-07 11:06:53.581  1869  1869 I Zygote  : Process 13593 exited due to signal (6)
11-07 11:06:53.583  1916 10389 I ActivityManager: Process com.ugroupmedia.pnp.client.mobile (pid 13593) has died: fore TOP
11-07 11:06:53.587  1916  1933 W libprocessgroup: kill(-13593, 9) failed: No such process
11-07 11:06:53.587  1916  1933 I libprocessgroup: Successfully killed process cgroup uid 10102 pid 13593 in 0ms
11-07 11:06:53.602  1916  7007 I ActivityManager: Killing 13620:com.google.android.gms/u0a8 (adj 900): empty #1
11-07 11:06:53.603  1916  1933 W libprocessgroup: kill(-13620, 9) failed: No such process
11-07 11:06:53.614 13677 13677 I p.client.mobil: Not late-enabling -Xcheck:jni (already on)
11-07 11:06:53.616  1916  1932 I ActivityManager: Start proc 13677:com.ugroupmedia.pnp.client.mobile/u0a102 for activity com.ugroupmedia.pnp.client.mobile/com.tns.NativeScriptActivity
11-07 11:06:53.633 13677 13677 W p.client.mobil: Unexpected CPU variant for X86 using defaults: x86_64
11-07 11:06:53.649  1916  1933 W libprocessgroup: kill(-13620, 9) failed: No such process
11-07 11:06:53.649  1916 10389 D WificondControl: Scan result ready event
11-07 11:06:53.650  1868  1868 I Zygote  : Process 13620 exited due to signal (9)
11-07 11:06:53.693  1916  1933 W libprocessgroup: kill(-13620, 9) failed: No such process
11-07 11:06:53.693  1916  1933 I libprocessgroup: Successfully killed process cgroup uid 10008 pid 13620 in 90ms
11-07 11:06:54.407 13677 13677 I CrashlyticsCore: Initializing Crashlytics 2.6.3.25
11-07 11:06:54.492 13704 13704 W gle.android.gm: Unexpected CPU variant for X86 using defaults: x86_64
11-07 11:06:54.494  1916  1932 I ActivityManager: Start proc 13704:com.google.android.gms/u0a8 for service com.google.android.gms/.ads.identifier.service.AdvertisingIdService
11-07 11:06:54.497 13704 13704 E gle.android.gm: Not starting debugger since process cannot load the jdwp agent.
11-07 11:06:54.505  1868 13708 I zygote64: Background concurrent copying GC freed 6565(2MB) AllocSpace objects, 0(0B) LOS objects, 75% free, 959KB/3MB, paused 5.526ms total 16.421ms
11-07 11:06:54.577 13677 13677 I CrashlyticsInitProvider: CrashlyticsInitProvider initialization successful
11-07 11:06:54.578 13704 13704 I gle.android.gm: The ClassLoaderContext is a special shared library.
11-07 11:06:54.580 13704 13704 I chatty  : uid=10008(com.google.android.gms) identical 1 line
11-07 11:06:54.581 13704 13704 I gle.android.gm: The ClassLoaderContext is a special shared library.
11-07 11:06:54.604 13704 13704 W GmsApplication: Failed to invoke the SupplierSetterRegistry.
11-07 11:06:54.660 13677 13716 I FA      : App measurement is starting up, version: 14700
11-07 11:06:54.661 13677 13716 I FA      : To enable debug logging run: adb shell setprop log.tag.FA VERBOSE
11-07 11:06:54.661 13677 13716 I FA      : To enable faster debug mode event logging run:
11-07 11:06:54.661 13677 13716 I FA      :   adb shell setprop debug.firebase.analytics.app com.ugroupmedia.pnp.client.mobile
11-07 11:06:54.722 13677 13730 W DynamiteModule: Local module descriptor class for com.google.firebase.auth not found.
11-07 11:06:54.732 13704 13704 V NativeCrypto: Registering com/google/android/gms/org/conscrypt/NativeCrypto's 287 native methods...
11-07 11:06:54.739 13677 13677 D FirebaseApp: com.google.firebase.crash.FirebaseCrash is not linked. Skipping initialization.
11-07 11:06:54.739 13677 13677 I FirebaseInitProvider: FirebaseApp initialization successful
11-07 11:06:54.754 13704 13704 D NetworkSecurityConfig: Using Network Security Config from resource network_security_config debugBuild: false
11-07 11:06:54.756 13704 13704 I ProviderInstaller: Installed default security provider GmsCore_OpenSSL
11-07 11:06:54.794 13677 13736 W DynamiteModule: Local module descriptor class for com.google.firebase.auth not found.
11-07 11:06:54.804 13677 13736 I FirebaseAuth: [FirebaseAuth:] Loading module via FirebaseOptions.
11-07 11:06:54.804 13677 13736 I FirebaseAuth: [FirebaseAuth:] Preparing to create service connection to gms implementation
11-07 11:06:54.854 13677 13738 D NetworkSecurityConfig: Using Network Security Config from resource network_security_config debugBuild: true
11-07 11:06:54.887 13704 13704 W Primes  : Primes not initialized, returning default (no-op) Primes instance which will ignore all calls. Please call Primes.initialize(...) before using any Primes API.
11-07 11:06:54.902 13704 13712 W System  : A resource failed to call close.
11-07 11:06:55.026 13677 13677 I TNS.Native: NativeScript Runtime Version 5.0.0, commit 45775988ddd18a9842ade012b2323ea47cc72740
11-07 11:06:55.026 13677 13677 D TNS.Native: JNI_ONLoad
11-07 11:06:55.026 13677 13677 D TNS.Native: JNI_ONLoad END

Considering how vague that all is, it took me a while to narrow down the exact cause, and I hadn't suspected the Firebase plugin, and even when I did, I didn't suspect the Crashlytics (which in its basic usage is just some Gradle plugins).

This can be repro reduced by creating an new {N} project (I'm using {N}+Angular, but I suspect the same would happen with the other flavours: JS/TS/Vue).

CLI also has no difference (4.2 or 5.0 have same result), nor does tns-core-modules or its widgets (either 4.2 or 5.0).

Repro:

1. tns create xxx --ng (as mentioned previously, I doubt the NG has any impact here, but I haven't tested otherwise.
2. cd xxx && npm i nativescript-plugin-firebase
3. Fill out the firebase configuration questions answering y for only using_android and crashlytics
4. Add a valid google-service.json (likely need to change the package.json nativescript.id to match that too.
5. tns run android

Result:
App will launch and get stuck in a boot/crash loop and your PC/Device will get very warm.

Since there was no complaint in that crash loop about Crashlytics (if anything it says several things about its success), I had even tried before narrowing it down to the plugin to build a custom runtime between 4.2 and 5.0 changes, leaving a number of things but reverting other. However, I hadn't tried reverting to many changes to the gradle stuff, other than the order that App/Plugin gradles are applied now, and still no result.

Now that I know its crashlytics build process that is to blame, I suspect it has something to do with the slight bumps of 'com.android.tools.build:gradle' in some of the portions, but not to the same and not fully.

[EddyVerbruggen]

Yeah I see a startup crash on Android with NativeScript 5.0.0 as well, when using the demo-ng app.

[DickSmith]

https://github.com/NativeScript/android-runtime/pull/1209/files

I haven't looked at it, and was about to do similar myself as previously mentioned, but this PR may be the solution.

[EddyVerbruggen]

I've just tried 3.2.1 but it doesn't help, unfortunately. Appreciate the tip though.

[NickIliev]

@EddyVerbruggen it seems that the latest android gradle plugin has changed the location of the folder that contains the metadata. The nativescript-plugin-firebase is manually copying the fabric gradle
plugin's metadata to the intermediates assets output folder.
With the bumping of the android gradle plugin version, this location is no longer valid which is causing the crash.

[EddyVerbruggen]

Thanks a million, @NickIliev! It's indeed the exact same problem I tackled before in #549 (but totally forgot about it). That assets folder changed to merge[Debug]Assets and the script needs to adjusted accordingly. I should be able to make this compatible with any {N} version. Gonna fly SOF ✈️AMS now, but will take care of it when I'm home.

[KristianDD]

@EddyVerbruggen during the investigation of the issue we ended up with a modified version of the copyMetadata Gradle task, that might be useful for the actual fix.

task copyMetadata {
    doLast {
        copy {
            from "$projectDir/src/main/assets/metadata"
            def destination;
            def configuration = project.hasProperty("release") ? "release" : "debug";
            def toDir = configuration;
            def assetsFolder = new File("$projectDir/build/intermediates/assets");
            def mergedAssetsFolder = new File("$projectDir/build/intermediates/merged_assets");
            def assetFiles = assetsFolder.exists() ? assetsFolder.listFiles() : mergedAssetsFolder.listFiles();
            if (assetFiles != null) {
                toDir = assetFiles[0].name
                if (toDir != 'debug' && toDir != 'release') {
                    toDir += "/release"
                }
            }
            
            if(assetsFolder.exists()) {
                destination = "$projectDir/build/intermediates/assets/" + toDir + "/metadata"
            } else {
                destination = "$projectDir/build/intermediates/merged_assets/$toDir/merge" + configuration.capitalize() + "Assets/out/metadata"
            }

            into destination
        }
    }
}

[EddyVerbruggen]

Hey @KristianDD thanks! I actually created something very similar on the flight home today. Will bump the version shortly.

[DickSmith]

@EddyVerbruggen
Just tried the build and can confirm. 😁