Build Android apps using Rust and iced

Ever dreamt of crafting Android applications with the raw power and safety of Rust? Well, our fellow craftsman has been busy in the digital workshop, and they've managed to bring the elegant `iced` GUI library to the Android platform. It’s not a straightforward path, as `iced` primarily targets desktop and web, but by cleverly weaving together foundational crates like `android-activity`, `winit`, and `wgpu`, a working example has emerged. This endeavor highlights the collaborative spirit in the Rust community, with thanks extended to the creators of these essential building blocks. If you're looking to inject Rust's reliability into your mobile development, this is a fascinating exploration of what's possible.

The key takeaway here is the ingenious integration. By leveraging existing `iced` examples that work with `wgpu` and combining them with the `android-activity` crate, the developer successfully bridged the gap. Initial hurdles, like the absence of rendered text, were overcome by a clever font loading solution, a snippet of which you'll find invaluable if you embark on a similar journey. Furthermore, a few minor patches were needed to introduce touch support, demonstrating that with a bit of tinkering, even non-mobile-first libraries can be coaxed into performing on Android. This isn't just about a single project; it opens the door for many other Rust-based UI frameworks and game engines that rely on `winit` and `wgpu` to explore mobile development.

📰 Original article: https://github.com/ibaryshnikov/android-iced-example

This content has been curated and summarized for Code Crafts readers.