Question

I have to create a desktop application to syncronize apps between the PC and the Android device (a tablet in this case)
The sync will be quite basic, I need to copy a few files. But also, if the tablet doesn’t have my app, the desktop app should be able to install the apk to the tablet.

I have searched all over and the only pointer I found is mention to a ddmlib (an AndroidDebugBridge library) that I can use, but I haven’t found where to find it or how to use it.

So the question how I can work with ddmlib? or if there are other options to sync my Desktop app with my Android app?

Thanks in advance for your time

Answer 1

If I was writing your sync software, I would use adb commands to install the application on the phone, then use adb forward to create tcp/ip connection to the phone and use that connection to transmit whatever data your application would like to send back and forth, probably even encrypting the traffic.

I would advise against using adb for data transfers, because it would not read or write your application private files, where all the secrets are kept, and sending the data to the world-readable /sdcard is bad for two reasons:

1. it’s world-readable and -writeable, your data will be exposed to everyone
2. some devices just don’t have /sdcard or have it unmounted or unavailable for other reasons

ps. For bonus points, you may try not to use adb commands, but access the adb server directly (it usually listens on the local TCP port 5037).