gradle - Android separate string values for release and debug builds

Question

Every time i release my app i change all my url strings and some keys from testing to production. The way I do it is just comment out the testing strings before i release. Is there a better way to handle strings based on the build type ?

Answer 1

Assuming you use Android Studio, by default the system creates a basic release and debug flavor. So if you add a debug and release folder in the app/src folder of your project you can declare separate values there.

So your structure should be like this:

project
  -app
    -src
      -debug
        -java
          ...
        -res
          -values
            -strings.xml
      -release
        -java
          ...
        -res
          -values
            -strings.xml
      -main
        -java
          ...
        -res
          -values
            -strings.xml

I should also add that if you have a string which isn't defined in either of the debug or the release folder that it will fallback to your main folder.