Android Studio Gradle DSL method not found: ‘android()’ — Error(17,0)

I went ahead and downloaded the project from the link you provided: http://javapapers.com/android/android-chat-bubble/

Since this is an old tutorial, you simply need to upgrade the software, gradle, the android build tools and plugin.

Make sure you have the latest Gradle and Android Studio:

• https://www.gradle.org/
• http://tools.android.com/tech-docs/new-build-system/version-compatibility

build.gradle:

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.1.2'
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
}

app/build.gradle:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion '23.0.3'

    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 9
        targetSdkVersion 23
        versionCode 1
        versionName '1.0'
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.2.1'
}

Then run gradle:

gradle installDebug