# How to Reference android_resources in Java (R.java)

## Overview

This document has basic instructions on how to reference an android resource in
java. It also attempts to explain what R.java is.

## How to reference Android Resources in java

1. Find the `resources_package` in your `android_library` target in BUILD.gn

```gn
android_library("java") {
  sources = [ "java/org/chromium/browser_ui/Widget.java" ]
  resources_package = "org.chromium.browser_ui"
  deps = [
    "//base:java",
    "//base:resources",
    "//third_party/android_deps:com_google_material_material_java",
    "//third_party/androidx:androidx_core_core_java",
  ]
}
```

2. Add a dep on the `android_resources` target with your resource.
    - or `android_aar_prebuilt` or `android_java_prebuilt` for prebuilt targets
    such as those under `//third_party/android_deps`

3. In your java file, `import <resources_package>.R;`

4. You can now reference `R.<type>.<name>` in your java.

### What not to do?

 - **You should not** reference multiple `R` classes.
    - All R classes will be the same in the final APK, you should never need to
    import multiple different R classes.
 - **You should not** import an `R` class from a different package than the one
 listed as the `resources_package` in you `android_library` target in `BUILD.gn`
 - **You should not** rely on transitive deps for resources you use directly.

## Android Resources and R.java

Android resources are global for the whole app. While you import the R class
from a package (eg: `org.chromium.base.R` or `org.chromium.browser_ui.R`) so you
might assume that there are resources under the `org.chromium.base` package that
are different from `org.chromium.browser_ui`, the actual resources from
android's point of view are not divided into packages but form a global pool
with unique consecutive ids.

The R class is a generated class that contains a mapping from the name of the
resources `R.string.hello` to its numeric id `0x7f015d14`. The build system
generates this R class for you based on the resources in your dependencies.

In the final apk, all the `R` classes from all the packages will all inherit
from one global R class that has the list of all resources with the final ids as
generated by `aapt2` (See [Life of a Resource](life_of_a_resources.md) for more
details on how resources are processed by our build system).

## Resources and per library java compilation

Chrome does not compile all the java in an apk at once. But instead it builds
each `android_library` separately and then brings them all together in the end.
This means that when compiling a single `android_library`, the build system does
not know the full list of resources that will end up in the apk. Thus, it can't
actually generate the final `R.class` with real resource ids but instead
creates a temporary one that only exists when compiling these library
subtargets.

`resources_package` in your android_library target tells the build system which
package to generate the R class in. During compile, this temporary `R.class`
will contain only the resources you depend on in your build target.