Crashlytics in Android Kotlin - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ ui_behavior

intermediate

Crashlytics: What happens when a crash occurs?

In an Android app integrated with Crashlytics, what happens immediately after the app crashes?

A The app automatically restarts and sends the crash report in the background.

B The crash report is sent to Firebase immediately, even if the app is closed.

C The crash report is saved locally and sent the next time the app starts.

D The crash report is discarded unless the user manually sends it.

💡 Hint

Think about how Crashlytics handles network availability and app lifecycle.

Crashlytics saves crash reports locally when a crash happens. It sends them to Firebase the next time the app starts, ensuring reports are not lost if the app closes abruptly.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Crashlytics: Purpose of custom keys

Why would you add custom keys to Crashlytics reports in your Android app?

A To add extra information about app state that helps diagnose crashes.

B To change the priority of crash reports sent to Firebase.

C To prevent certain crashes from being reported to Firebase.

D To automatically fix bugs based on the keys provided.

💡 Hint

Custom keys add context, not control over reporting or fixing.

Custom keys let you attach extra details like user actions or app state to crash reports, making it easier to understand why a crash happened.

❓ lifecycle

advanced

Crashlytics: When to initialize in Android app lifecycle?

Where is the best place to initialize Firebase Crashlytics in an Android app using Kotlin?

A Inside the Application class's onCreate() method.

B Inside the onDestroy() method of the first activity.

C Inside a background thread after user login.

D Inside the MainActivity's onStart() method.

💡 Hint

Crashlytics should be ready as early as possible in app startup.

Initializing Crashlytics in the Application class's onCreate() ensures it starts before any activity and can catch crashes anywhere in the app.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Crashlytics: Diagnosing missing crash reports

You integrated Crashlytics but notice some crashes are not appearing in Firebase console. Which of these is the most likely cause?

A Crashlytics requires manual user approval before sending reports.

B You forgot to add internet permission in AndroidManifest.xml.

C Firebase project is not linked to Google Analytics.

D The app is running in debug mode and crash reporting is disabled by default.

💡 Hint

Think about Crashlytics behavior in debug vs release builds.

By default, Crashlytics disables crash reporting in debug builds to avoid noise. You must enable it explicitly or test in release builds.

❓ navigation

expert

Crashlytics: Handling user consent before crash reporting

Your app requires user consent before sending crash reports. Which approach correctly delays Crashlytics initialization until after consent is given?

Android Kotlin

class MyApp : Application() {
  override fun onCreate() {
    super.onCreate()
    // What to do here?
  }
  fun onUserConsentGiven() {
    // Initialize Crashlytics here
  }
}

A Do not initialize Crashlytics in onCreate(); initialize it only inside onUserConsentGiven() after consent.

B Initialize Crashlytics in onCreate() but disable data collection until consent is given.

C Initialize Crashlytics in onCreate() and remove it if user denies consent.

D Initialize Crashlytics in onCreate() and send crash reports immediately regardless of consent.

💡 Hint

Crashlytics supports enabling/disabling data collection dynamically.

The recommended way is to initialize Crashlytics early but disable automatic data collection until user consents, then enable it. This avoids missing crashes and respects privacy.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of Crashlytics in an Android app?

easy

A. To automatically track and report app crashes

B. To improve app UI design

C. To manage app navigation

D. To optimize app performance speed

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Crashlytics functionality

   Crashlytics is a tool designed to detect and report app crashes automatically.

2. Step 2: Compare options with Crashlytics purpose

   Only To automatically track and report app crashes matches the core function of Crashlytics, which is crash tracking and reporting.

3. Final Answer:

   To automatically track and report app crashes -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Crashlytics = crash tracking [OK]

Hint: Crashlytics = crash reports automatically [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing Crashlytics with UI or navigation tools
• Thinking Crashlytics improves app speed
• Assuming Crashlytics manages app content

2. Which of the following is the correct way to add Crashlytics dependency in your app's build.gradle file?

easy

A. apply plugin: 'com.google.firebase.crashlytics'

B. compile 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:18.3.7'

C. implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-analytics:18.3.7'

D. implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:18.3.7'

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct dependency syntax

   Modern Gradle uses 'implementation' to add dependencies, not 'compile' which is deprecated.

2. Step 2: Match Crashlytics dependency artifact

   The correct artifact for Crashlytics is 'firebase-crashlytics', not 'firebase-analytics'.

3. Final Answer:

   implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:18.3.7' -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Use implementation + firebase-crashlytics [OK]

Hint: Use 'implementation' with firebase-crashlytics artifact [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using deprecated 'compile' keyword
• Confusing Crashlytics with Analytics dependency
• Using plugin apply instead of dependency line

3. Given this Kotlin code snippet, what will Crashlytics record when the app crashes?

try {
  val result = 10 / 0
} catch (e: Exception) {
  Firebase.crashlytics.recordException(e)
}

medium

A. Crashlytics records the division by zero exception

B. No crash recorded because exception is caught

C. App will crash without any report

D. Crashlytics records a null pointer exception

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze exception handling

   The division by zero throws an ArithmeticException, which is caught in the catch block.

2. Step 2: Check Crashlytics exception recording

   The caught exception is passed to Firebase.crashlytics.recordException(e), so Crashlytics logs it even without app crash.

3. Final Answer:

   Crashlytics records the division by zero exception -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   recordException logs caught exceptions [OK]

Hint: recordException logs caught errors even if app doesn't crash [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking caught exceptions are ignored by Crashlytics
• Assuming app crashes without report
• Confusing exception types

4. You added Crashlytics to your app but no crash reports appear in the Firebase console. What is a common mistake causing this?

medium

A. Adding Crashlytics dependency in the wrong module

B. Using the wrong package name in build.gradle

C. Not initializing Firebase in the Application class

D. Calling recordException outside a try-catch block

Solution

1. Step 1: Check Firebase initialization

   Firebase must be initialized early, usually in the Application class, for Crashlytics to work.

2. Step 2: Evaluate other options

   Wrong package name or dependency module can cause issues but the most common is missing Firebase initialization.

3. Final Answer:

   Not initializing Firebase in the Application class -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Initialize Firebase early for Crashlytics [OK]

Hint: Always initialize Firebase in Application class [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting FirebaseApp.initializeApp(context)
• Misplacing dependencies in modules
• Assuming recordException needs try-catch

5. You want to log a custom message and a user ID to Crashlytics before a crash happens. Which code snippet correctly does this?

hard

A. Firebase.crashlytics.log("User clicked the crash button")
throw RuntimeException("Test crash")
Firebase.crashlytics.setCustomKey("userId", "12345")

B. Firebase.crashlytics.setCustomKey("userId", "12345")
Firebase.crashlytics.log("User clicked the crash button")
throw RuntimeException("Test crash")

C. throw RuntimeException("Test crash")
Firebase.crashlytics.setCustomKey("userId", "12345")

D. Firebase.crashlytics.recordException(RuntimeException("Test crash"))
Firebase.crashlytics.setCustomKey("userId", "12345")

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Crashlytics logging order

   Custom keys and logs must be set before the crash to be included in the report.

2. Step 2: Check code snippet order

   Firebase.crashlytics.setCustomKey("userId", "12345") Firebase.crashlytics.log("User clicked the crash button") throw RuntimeException("Test crash") sets the user ID and logs the message before throwing the crash, so data is captured correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   Set custom key and log before crash throw -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Set keys and logs before crash [OK]

Hint: Set keys/logs before crash throw to capture data [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Setting keys after crash throw (too late)
• Using recordException instead of throwing crash
• Not logging custom messages