Fenix: FNX2-15803 ⁃ Dependency substitution for android-components

[grigoryk]

This will allow us to easily develop against a local checkout of android-components.

Currently blocked on a-c moving to AndroidX (https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/android-components/issues/842). Also, see similar r-b issue: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser/issues/365

[grigoryk]

We _should_ be mostly unblocked here. A-C needs to move to AndroidX but IIUC nothing is in the way of that.

[sblatz]

@grigoryk is this still waiting on anything?

[sblatz]

I think this is covered by using mavenLocal: https://mozac.org/contributing/testing-components-inside-app.

~Please re-open if I'm incorrect!~
I was incorrect 😂

[grigoryk]

Here are pretty precise instructions on what needs to happen here: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser/issues/365#issuecomment-450453145

Nothing should be blocking this work, just needs to be tested.

[grigoryk]

We've had a very traumatic past few weeks trying to do tight iterations across three levels of the stack (a-s -> a-c -> fenix), and not having this done yet has been such a pain. So let's bump this up in priority.

[grigoryk]

Actually, I don't know what Fenix labels really mean, so I'll re-add it. In any case, this will be done as part of an a-c sprint.

[pocmo]

@grigoryk: @jonalmeida and I both tried that in RB (earlier draft: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser/pull/815) and the result has been horrible. Mostly because:

• You can't get rid of it anymore. Android Studio completely ignores if you remove/reset the substitution.
• It will also do the reverse and add all the app projects into the AC project which has been confusing and unexpected.

[grigoryk]

@pocmo i've ran into the same behaviour, and couldn't work around it. So instead went for automating a local publication workflow.

[masi456]

I think this does not work for windows, since you have to call "gradlew.bat", not "gradle".