Provide better information for "Some input files use or override a deprecated API"

[bartekpacia]

Use case

Many Flutter apps that depend on plugins often output the following messages when building for Android:

Note: Some input files use or override a deprecated API.
Note: Recompile with -Xlint:deprecation for details.
Note: Some input files use or override a deprecated API.
Note: Recompile with -Xlint:deprecation for details.

But it's not obvious at all how to actually "Recompile with -Xlint:deprecation". Recently a person asked this question in #147414, and I was motivated to find a solution.

Proposal

I suggest that flutter tool filters out all out these lines from its output:

Note: Some input files use or override a deprecated API.
Note: Recompile with -Xlint:deprecation for details.

But on the first occurence of such text, it prints a useful warning message, and suggest an action to take, e.g.:

Some Java sources use or override a deprecated API.
To see exactly what the offending files are, append the following to
/Users/bartek/projects/example/android/build.gradle:

  subprojects.forEach { project ->
      project.tasks.withType(JavaCompile) {
          options.compilerArgs += ['-Xlint:deprecation']
      }
  }

If these warnings come from a plugin, consult the plugin maintainer.

If the project uses Gradle Kotlin DSL instead of Gradle Groovy DSL, the warning message adapts:

Some Java sources use or override a deprecated API.
To see exactly what the offending files are, append the following to
/Users/bartek/projects/example/android/build.gradle.kts:

  subprojects.forEach { project ->
      project.tasks.withType<JavaCompile> {
          options.compilerArgs.addAll(listOf("-Xlint:deprecation"))
      }
  }

If these warnings come from a plugin, consult the plugin maintainer.

[AbdeMohlbi]

@bartekpacia
Is it possible to make it hint to the plugin that causes this warning

[bartekpacia]

@AbdeMohlbi Not directly, but once you follow the instructions it'll be easy to see what plugin is the offender:

Example logs

$ flutter build apk --debug
Resolving dependencies...
  _fe_analyzer_shared 67.0.0 (68.0.0 available)
  _flutterfire_internals 1.3.29 (1.3.32 available)
  analyzer 6.4.1 (6.5.0 available)
  archive 3.4.10 (3.5.1 available)
  args 2.4.2 (2.5.0 available)
  cached_network_image_web 1.1.1 (1.2.0 available)
  cloud_firestore 4.16.1 (4.17.2 available)
  cloud_firestore_platform_interface 6.1.13 (6.2.2 available)
  cloud_firestore_web 3.11.1 (3.12.2 available)
  connectivity_plus 6.0.2 (6.0.3 available)
  firebase_auth 4.19.1 (4.19.4 available)
  firebase_auth_platform_interface 7.2.2 (7.2.5 available)
  firebase_auth_web 5.11.1 (5.11.4 available)
  firebase_core 2.29.0 (2.30.1 available)
  firebase_core_web 2.15.0 (2.16.0 available)
  firebase_crashlytics 3.5.1 (3.5.4 available)
  firebase_crashlytics_platform_interface 3.6.29 (3.6.32 available)
  firebase_storage 11.7.1 (11.7.4 available)
  firebase_storage_platform_interface 5.1.16 (5.1.19 available)
  firebase_storage_web 3.9.1 (3.9.4 available)
  flutter_cache_manager 3.3.1 (3.3.2 available)
  flutter_markdown 0.6.23 (0.7.1 available)
  frontend_server_client 3.2.0 (4.0.0 available)
  geolocator_android 4.5.4 (4.5.5 available)
  go_router 13.2.4 (14.0.2 available)
  go_router_builder 2.5.1 (2.6.1 available)
  google_maps_flutter 2.6.0 (2.6.1 available)
  google_maps_flutter_android 2.7.0 (2.8.0 available)
  google_maps_flutter_ios 2.5.2 (2.6.0 available)
  google_maps_flutter_web 0.5.6+2 (0.5.7 available)
  google_sign_in_android 6.1.22 (6.1.23 available)
  google_sign_in_ios 5.7.5 (5.7.6 available)
  image_picker 1.0.8 (1.1.1 available)
  image_picker_android 0.8.9+5 (0.8.11 available)
  image_picker_for_web 3.0.3 (3.0.4 available)
  image_picker_ios 0.8.9+2 (0.8.10+1 available)
  intl 0.18.1 (0.19.0 available)
  js 0.6.7 (0.7.1 available)
  json_annotation 4.8.1 (4.9.0 available)
  json_serializable 6.7.1 (6.8.0 available)
  leak_tracker 10.0.0 (10.0.5 available)
  leak_tracker_flutter_testing 2.0.1 (3.0.5 available)
  leak_tracker_testing 2.0.1 (3.0.1 available)
  leancode_lint 12.0.0 (12.1.0 available)
  material_color_utilities 0.8.0 (0.11.1 available)
  meta 1.11.0 (1.14.0 available)
  package_info_plus 7.0.0 (8.0.0 available)
  path_provider_android 2.2.3 (2.2.4 available)
  photo_view 0.14.0 (0.15.0 available)
  pointycastle 3.8.0 (3.9.0 available)
  share_plus 8.0.3 (9.0.0 available)
  share_plus_platform_interface 3.4.0 (4.0.0 available)
  sqflite 2.3.3 (2.3.3+1 available)
  test 1.24.9 (1.25.4 available)
  test_api 0.6.1 (0.7.1 available)
  test_core 0.5.9 (0.6.2 available)
  url_launcher_android 6.3.0 (6.3.1 available)
  url_launcher_web 2.3.0 (2.3.1 available)
  vm_service 13.0.0 (14.2.1 available)
  win32 5.4.0 (5.5.0 available)
Got dependencies!
60 packages have newer versions incompatible with dependency constraints.
Try `flutter pub outdated` for more information.

/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/firebase_auth-4.19.1/android/src/main/java/io/flutter/plugins/firebase/auth/FlutterFirebaseAuthUser.java:343: warning: [deprecation] updateEmail(String) in FirebaseUser has been deprecated
        .updateEmail(newEmail)
        ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/firebase_auth-4.19.1/android/src/main/java/io/flutter/plugins/firebase/auth/FlutterFirebaseAuthPlugin.java:473: warning: [deprecation] fetchSignInMethodsForEmail(String) in FirebaseAuth has been deprecated
        .fetchSignInMethodsForEmail(email)
        ^
2 warnings
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:67: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY in LocationRequest has been deprecated
    private Integer locationAccuracy = LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY;
                                                      ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:85: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_NO_POWER in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(0, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_NO_POWER);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:86: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_LOW_POWER in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(1, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_LOW_POWER);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:87: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_BALANCED_POWER_ACCURACY in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(2, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_BALANCED_POWER_ACCURACY);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:88: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(3, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:89: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(4, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_HIGH_ACCURACY);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:90: warning: [deprecation] PRIORITY_LOW_POWER in LocationRequest has been deprecated
            put(5, LocationRequest.PRIORITY_LOW_POWER);
                                  ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:249: warning: [deprecation] isFromMockProvider() in Location has been deprecated
                    if (location.isFromMockProvider()) {
                                ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:306: warning: [deprecation] create() in LocationRequest has been deprecated
        mLocationRequest = LocationRequest.create();
                                          ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:308: warning: [deprecation] setInterval(long) in LocationRequest has been deprecated
        mLocationRequest.setInterval(this.updateIntervalMilliseconds);
                        ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:309: warning: [deprecation] setFastestInterval(long) in LocationRequest has been deprecated
        mLocationRequest.setFastestInterval(this.fastestUpdateIntervalMilliseconds);
                        ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:310: warning: [deprecation] setPriority(int) in LocationRequest has been deprecated
        mLocationRequest.setPriority(this.locationAccuracy);
                        ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/FlutterLocation.java:311: warning: [deprecation] setSmallestDisplacement(float) in LocationRequest has been deprecated
        mLocationRequest.setSmallestDisplacement(this.distanceFilter);
                        ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/MethodCallHandlerImpl.java:102: warning: [deprecation] Long(long) in Long has been deprecated
            final Long updateIntervalMilliseconds = new Long((int) call.argument("interval"));
                                                    ^
/Users/bartek/.cache/pub/hosted/pub.dev/location-6.0.1/android/src/main/java/com/lyokone/location/MethodCallHandlerImpl.java:104: warning: [deprecation] Float(double) in Float has been deprecated
            final Float distanceFilter = new Float((double) call.argument("distanceFilter"));
                                         ^
15 warnings
Running Gradle task 'assembleDebug'...                             38.2s
✓  Built build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-debug.apk

[AbdeMohlbi]

Hmmmm tbh i never had the part were it says which plugin have a problem in wich class

[AbdeMohlbi]

I guess ur using master branch maybee that's why

[bartekpacia]

The logs in my comment above assume that you've appended this code to android/build.gradle:

subprojects.forEach { project ->
      project.tasks.withType(JavaCompile) {
          options.compilerArgs += ['-Xlint:deprecation']
      }
  }