Difference between res/ and resources/

Issue

Is there a difference between res/ and resources/.?? If I simply create a new directory and title it resources, it is not displayed as a normal directory, seems like resources is a keyword unlike temp which shows as a normal directory.

We commonly name a resource folder res in the lib directory to hold drawables, values, layout, etc..

and then in the test directory we put sample json and other items needed for testing in resources. I'm just wondering if there is actually a difference between these?

Thanks

Solution

The test folder contains code (usually test code, unit tests, etc...) that runs on your local PC or laptop. The code compiled and eventually run using the installed Java on your machine the same way as pure Java projects with some minor differences. So basically the purpose of the test folder is to test parts of application code that don't have a dependency on the Android SDK and without using an Android device. Also on the side, there's another test folder which is androidTest, it also used for testing parts of the application but with using an Android device, meaning an actual test application is loaded on the device and it executes the tests which have a dependency on the Android SDK.

That being said, pure Java projects or code usually use resources folder and not res (as far I have seen while using IDEs). When compiling and then running the pure Java projects or code, the contents of the resources folder are placed at the root of the Java classpath so that the code being executed finds its resources there.

Android Studio or the Android Gradle Plugin seems to handle both differently (in terms of packaging them into the final aar or apk), so it is best that there is only res in main or androidTest folder and also that there is only resources in test folder.

Answered By - ahasbini