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Top Android Billing Libraries

Top Android Billing Libraries.

Android billing libraries are essential tools for implementing in-app purchases and managing subscriptions in Android applications. These libraries provide a convenient way to handle various billing-related tasks, such as purchasing products, managing subscriptions, and handling billing events. In this tutorial, we will explore some of the top Android billing libraries, their features, installation process, and provide code usage examples.

1. Google Play Billing Library​

The Google Play Billing Library is the official billing library provided by Google for integrating in-app purchases and subscriptions in Android apps. It offers several features, including:

Features​

  • Seamless integration with the Google Play Store
  • Support for one-time purchases and subscriptions
  • Easy implementation of in-app purchase flows
  • Handling purchase acknowledgement and consumption
  • Support for subscriptions with auto-renewal
  • Real-time purchase status updates

Usage​

To use the Google Play Billing Library, follow these steps:

Step 1: Add the library dependency to your app's build.gradle file:

implementation 'com.android.billingclient:billing:4.0.0'

Step 2: Initialize the billing client in your app's code:

val billingClient = BillingClient.newBuilder(context)
    .setListener(purchaseUpdateListener)
    .enablePendingPurchases()
    .build()

Step 3: Connect to the billing service:

billingClient.startConnection(object : BillingClientStateListener {
    override fun onBillingSetupFinished(billingResult: BillingResult) {
        if (billingResult.responseCode == BillingClient.BillingResponseCode.OK) {
            // Billing service is ready
        }
    }

    override fun onBillingServiceDisconnected() {
        // Handle disconnection from the billing service
    }
})

Step 4: Implement the purchase flow:

val flowParams = BillingFlowParams.newBuilder()
    .setSkuDetails(skuDetails)
    .build()

val responseCode = billingClient.launchBillingFlow(activity, flowParams)

For more information and code examples, refer to the Google Play Billing Library documentation.

2. RxBilling​

RxBilling is a reactive wrapper library built on top of the Google Play Billing Library. It simplifies the usage of the Google Play Billing Library by providing an RxJava-based API for handling billing-related tasks.

Features​

Some of its features include:

  • Reactive stream-based API using RxJava
  • Simplified purchase and subscription flows
  • Automatic connection management
  • Support for product details retrieval
  • Built-in error handling and retry mechanisms

Usage​

To use RxBilling, follow these steps:

Step 1: Add the library dependency to your app's build.gradle file:

implementation 'com.github.azimolabs.rxandroidstore:billing:1.0.3'

Step 2: Create an instance of RxBillingClient:

val rxBillingClient = RxBillingClient(context)

Step 3: Use RxJava operators to handle billing tasks:

rxBillingClient.startConnection()
    .flatMap { rxBillingClient.querySkuDetails(SkuType.IN_APP, listOf(productId)) }
    .flatMap { skuDetailsList ->
        rxBillingClient.launchBillingFlow(activity, skuDetailsList.first())
    }
    .subscribe { billingResult ->
        if (billingResult.responseCode == BillingClient.BillingResponseCode.OK) {
            // Purchase successful
        } else {
            // Handle failure
        }
    }

For more information and code examples, refer to the RxBilling GitHub repository.

3. Flutter InAppPurchase Plugin​

If you are developing a Flutter app, the Flutter InAppPurchase plugin provides a convenient way to implement in-app purchases and subscriptions. This plugin supports both Android and iOS platforms and offers the following features:

  • Easy setup and configuration
  • Support for one-time purchases and subscriptions
  • Handling purchase events and callbacks
  • Consuming purchased items
  • Testing purchases with sandbox accounts

To use the Flutter InAppPurchase plugin, follow these steps:

Step 1: Add the plugin dependency to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  in_app_purchase: ^0.5.3

Step 2: Initialize the plugin and query available products:

final InAppPurchaseConnection _connection = InAppPurchaseConnection.instance;

await _connection.prepare();

final ProductDetailsResponse response =
    await _connection.queryProductDetails(productIds);
final List<ProductDetails> products = response.productDetails;

Step 3: Start the purchase flow:

final PurchaseParam purchaseParam = PurchaseParam(
    productDetails: productDetails,
    applicationUserName: 'user123',
);

if (await _connection.isAvailable()) {
    final PurchaseDetails purchaseDetails =
        await _connection.buyNonConsumable(purchaseParam);

    if (purchaseDetails.status == PurchaseStatus.purchased) {
        // Handle successful purchase
    }
}

For more information and code examples, refer to the Flutter InAppPurchase plugin documentation.

Additional Libraries:​

  • Room: A powerful SQLite object mapping library for Android. It can be used to store and manage billing-related data in a local database. GitHub Repository
  • Dagger: A dependency injection library that can be used to provide dependencies to billing-related classes and components. GitHub Repository

In this tutorial, we explored some of the top Android billing libraries and their features. We covered the installation process and provided code examples for libraries such as the Google Play Billing Library, RxBilling, and the Flutter InAppPurchase plugin. These libraries offer a wide range of features for implementing in-app purchases and subscriptions in Android applications. Additionally, we mentioned other useful libraries such as Room and Dagger that can complement billing-related functionality in your app.