ActivityLauncher Bug: MainActivity Only Shows Initially

by Kenji Nakamura 56 views

Hey guys! 👋 We've got a bug report here that needs some attention. It seems like ActivityLauncher isn't showing all activities for some apps right away. Let's dive into the details and see what's going on.

🐛 Bug Description

In ActivityLauncher, the main activity is the only one displayed for certain apps, like SCEE, until you open it and then navigate back. This is a bug that can be pretty confusing for users. When a user searches or clicks on specific applications within ActivityLauncher, they expect to see a comprehensive list of all available activities. However, in some cases, only the MainActivity is initially displayed, concealing other activities such as Settings, (About), and (My Profile). This behavior necessitates an extra step for users to access these hidden activities, which can be frustrating and inefficient. The inconsistency in displaying activities—some apps show all from the start, while others require this workaround—further complicates the user experience. This bug not only affects the immediate usability of ActivityLauncher but also raises questions about the app's reliability in presenting a complete view of available functionalities. Addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience for all users, allowing them to quickly access the activities they need without unnecessary steps.

To clarify the significance of this bug, it's essential to understand the core functionality of ActivityLauncher. It is designed to provide a detailed view of an application's structure, enabling users to directly access specific activities within an app. This functionality is particularly useful for developers, testers, and advanced users who need to bypass the standard app navigation flow for debugging, testing, or specific tasks. When ActivityLauncher fails to display all activities upfront, it undermines its primary purpose, making it difficult for users to efficiently navigate and utilize the app's features. The inconsistency in activity display not only impacts the app's usability but also its reputation as a reliable tool. A user who encounters this bug might perceive the app as unreliable or incomplete, which can deter them from using it in the future. Therefore, resolving this issue is paramount to maintaining ActivityLauncher's effectiveness and ensuring that it continues to serve its intended audience effectively. This fix is not just about correcting a technical glitch; it's about upholding the app's commitment to providing a clear, comprehensive, and user-friendly interface for accessing Android activities.

Understanding the root cause of this bug requires a deeper look into how ActivityLauncher discovers and displays activities. Android applications are structured around activities, which are individual screens or interfaces that users interact with. ActivityLauncher works by querying the Android system for a list of activities associated with each installed application. This process involves examining the app's manifest file, which declares all the activities and their properties. A possible cause of this bug could be related to how ActivityLauncher interprets the manifest or how it handles certain types of activity declarations. For example, activities that are declared with specific intent filters or flags might not be immediately recognized by ActivityLauncher until the MainActivity is launched. Another potential cause could be related to the timing of activity discovery. ActivityLauncher might not be waiting for all activities to be fully initialized before displaying the initial list, resulting in some activities being missed. To effectively diagnose and fix this bug, developers need to investigate the activity discovery process in detail, comparing the behavior of apps that display all activities correctly with those that do not. This investigation might involve using debugging tools to examine the app's internal state, analyzing log outputs, and reviewing the Android documentation on activity management. By systematically exploring these possibilities, the development team can pinpoint the exact cause of the issue and implement a robust solution that ensures all activities are displayed correctly from the start.

🔁 Steps to Reproduce

To reproduce the issue, follow these steps:

  1. Click the magnifying glass icon to search 🔍.
  2. Search for SCEE (you'll need to have it installed; see the link above).
  3. Click on SCEE.
  4. Notice that only MainActivity is shown.
  5. Click the Android back button.
  6. Suddenly, the rest of the activities are shown (Settings, (About), (My Profile) in addition to MainActivity).

🤔 Expected Behavior

The expected behavior here is pretty straightforward: all activities should be shown immediately in step (4). When users search for an application using ActivityLauncher, they anticipate seeing a complete list of all available activities within that app. This includes not only the main activity but also any secondary activities, settings screens, or other interfaces that the app exposes. The principle of least astonishment suggests that the tool should behave in a way that aligns with the user's expectations, and in this case, that means displaying all activities upfront. This expectation is rooted in the purpose of ActivityLauncher, which is to provide a comprehensive and direct access point to all functionalities within an application. When the tool only displays MainActivity initially, it creates a disconnect between what the user expects and what they see, leading to confusion and frustration. This deviation from the expected behavior not only impacts the user experience but also reduces the efficiency of the tool, as users must perform additional steps to access the hidden activities. Therefore, the goal is to ensure that ActivityLauncher immediately displays all available activities, providing a clear and complete view of the application's structure and capabilities. This consistency in behavior is crucial for maintaining user trust and ensuring that ActivityLauncher remains a reliable tool for developers, testers, and advanced users.

To further elaborate on the expected behavior, consider the use cases for ActivityLauncher. This tool is often used in scenarios where users need to directly access specific activities within an application for testing, debugging, or configuration purposes. For example, a developer might use ActivityLauncher to quickly navigate to a settings screen without having to go through the standard app navigation flow. A tester might use it to directly access a specific activity to perform targeted tests. In these scenarios, the ability to see all activities at once is essential for efficiency. If the user has to first launch the MainActivity and then navigate back to see the other activities, it adds unnecessary steps and slows down the workflow. The expected behavior also aligns with the principle of discoverability, which is a key aspect of user interface design. Discoverability refers to how easily users can find and access the features of an application. When all activities are displayed upfront, users can easily discover the various functionalities offered by the app. However, when some activities are hidden initially, it reduces discoverability and makes it harder for users to fully utilize the app's capabilities. Therefore, displaying all activities immediately is not just a matter of convenience; it's a fundamental requirement for making ActivityLauncher a user-friendly and efficient tool. By ensuring that all activities are visible from the start, ActivityLauncher can fulfill its intended purpose of providing a clear and comprehensive view of an application's structure, empowering users to quickly access the functionalities they need.

From a technical standpoint, the expected behavior also reflects the underlying mechanisms of how Android applications are structured. Android apps are built around the concept of activities, which are individual screens or interfaces that the user interacts with. Each activity is declared in the app's manifest file, along with its properties and intent filters. ActivityLauncher works by reading this manifest file and presenting the list of activities to the user. The process of reading the manifest and displaying activities should be straightforward and consistent. There should be no reason why some activities are hidden initially and only appear after the MainActivity is launched. This behavior suggests a potential issue in how ActivityLauncher is processing the manifest file or how it is querying the Android system for the list of activities. The expectation is that ActivityLauncher should accurately reflect the structure of the application as defined in the manifest file. If an activity is declared in the manifest, it should be displayed in ActivityLauncher without any additional steps required. This consistency is crucial for ensuring that ActivityLauncher provides a reliable and accurate representation of the application's capabilities. By adhering to this expected behavior, ActivityLauncher can maintain its integrity as a tool for developers, testers, and advanced users who rely on it to understand and interact with Android applications at a granular level. Addressing this issue will not only improve the user experience but also ensure that ActivityLauncher remains a trusted and dependable tool for the Android development community.

😱 Actual Behavior

What's actually happening is that only MainActivity is shown when the app is opened in step (4). You have to go back for the rest of the activities to show. This is definitely not ideal! 😫

📱 Android Device Info

  • Device model: Samsung Galaxy S23+
  • Android version: Android 15 (stock, degooglified)
  • Is it an emulator or physical device? Physical
  • App version: 2.1.4 (from F-droid)
  • Screen resolution or DPI: (Not provided)

🧪 Environment

  • Project version / commit: (Not provided)

📘 Additional Context

There's a video attached that shows this bug in action:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c435205d-e915-45a6-916a-da39b258981d

Hopefully, this detailed report helps the devs squash this bug! Let's make ActivityLauncher even better, guys! 💪

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