android - Is `shouldOverrideUrlLoading` really deprecated? What can I use instead?

Question

Is "shouldOverrideUrlLoading" really deprecated? If so, what can I use instead?

It seems like shouldOverrideUrlLoading is deprecated targeting Android N and I need to make an app work since API 19 until the latest right now which is Android N (beta), I use some features that are new in Android N (like Data Saver), so targeting Marshmallow will not help with the issue since I need to use those new features, here is the part of the code I use:

public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView webview, String url) {
    if (url.startsWith("http:") || url.startsWith("https:")) {
        ...
    } else if (url.startsWith("sms:")) {
        ...
    }
    ...
}

And this is the message Android Studio gave me:

Overrides deprecated method in 'android.webkit.WebViewClient' This inspection reports where deprecated code is used in the specified inspection scope.

Google says nothing about that deprecation.

I wonder if using @SuppressWarnings("deprecation") will let me work on all devices since the API 19 until the latest Android N Beta (and its final version when it gets released), I can't test it myself, I never used that and I need to be sure that it works, so, anyone can tell?

Answer 1

Documenting in detail for future readers:

The short answer is you need to override both the methods. The shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) method is deprecated in API 24 and the shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, WebResourceRequest request) method is added in API 24. If you are targeting older versions of android, you need the former method, and if you are targeting 24 (or later, if someone is reading this in distant future) it's advisable to override the latter method as well.

The below is the skeleton on how you would accomplish this:

class CustomWebViewClient extends WebViewClient {

    @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
    @Override
    public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {
        final Uri uri = Uri.parse(url);
        return handleUri(uri);
    }

    @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.N)
    @Override
    public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, WebResourceRequest request) {
        final Uri uri = request.getUrl();
        return handleUri(uri);
    }

    private boolean handleUri(final Uri uri) {
        Log.i(TAG, "Uri =" + uri);
        final String host = uri.getHost();
        final String scheme = uri.getScheme();
        // Based on some condition you need to determine if you are going to load the url 
        // in your web view itself or in a browser. 
        // You can use `host` or `scheme` or any part of the `uri` to decide.
        if (/* any condition */) {
            // Returning false means that you are going to load this url in the webView itself
            return false;
        } else {
            // Returning true means that you need to handle what to do with the url
            // e.g. open web page in a Browser
            final Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, uri);
            startActivity(intent);
            return true;
        }
    }
}

Just like shouldOverrideUrlLoading, you can come up with a similar approach for shouldInterceptRequest method.