Jamie Sanson

Staff Software Engineer at M&S

Jamie is a Google Developer Expert for Android. In his spare time he likes to build things - from apps, to mechanical keyboards, to brewing systems - and photographs anything and everything. Jamie is currently working as a Staff Software Engineer in the Apps Platform team at Marks and Spencer.

Exploring App Functions

Android 16 introduces App Functions, a novel and mysterious new feature that's largely flown under the radar. This roundtable invites a collaborative exploration around what App Functions are, and what they might be for. Kick-Off Questions What are some use-cases where you might use App Functions within your own app? How might a permission model work that allows you to call other apps' functions? How does the developer experience compare to something like Intents? Given that App Functions likely enable new forms of app interaction, what are the new security implications? How fundamentally does the App Functions feature alter the existing Android inter-process communication (IPC) model (e.g., Intents, Services, Content Providers)? Are they a replacement or an extension? How would you go about keeping track of changes to features like this? What tools and resources would you reach for? How can you try new tech out?