Android minimum app sdk, required sdks for compilation and compatibility issues - android

I'm new to android and i want make some things clear about some confusions:
If i set my new android application to a minimum sdk version to 4.0.3 (api 15) should i install all sdks between that version and the latest one ? Or should i just install the sdk level same the device/emulator i will use for testing has as plateform version?
What about when i will generate the final apk for the appstore which will be supposed to work in all android platform versions starting from the min sdk i've targeted ?
i was reading about the Android Support Library and i guess it should be always part of the latest sdk. if i use it on my application should i still have earlier sdk versions installed for the compilation ? Won't i never need anymore packages from earlier API version once i use the support library ?
Best regards.

You do not need the SDK for the minimum version. You only need to work with the SDK of the Target/Maximum version.
Download the platform tools and platform through the SDK manager for the Target API version. And if you use features that are not available in the minimum version, use Android Support Libraries.

The purpose of setting your Minimum SDK is to let devices know if they'll be able to run the code based on what SDK they're using. You don't need to have all versions of the SDK, just the most recent one that you're developing for. If you're using Android Development Studio, it will warn you if a feature you're trying to implement is not supported by the Minimum SDK you've set for the project.

Related

How SDK platforms work in android studio?

I am confused about how SDK platforms work in android studio.
I have only a few SDK platforms installed, yet i am able to run my app for MeMu android 4.4.4 emulator.
When creating the project i set min version to android 4, i assume that's why it can run on android 4+. but then what are these SDK platforms and what will be missed if i dont have them installed?
Those are different versions of the SDK released for the different versions of the platform. Generally you just install the latest and use that for a new project. However not all projects jump right on updating it, so if you're working on a pre-existing app you may need to download whatever version they were using at the time.

Target Framework only shows up to API 23

I can't seem to select other API higher than Marshmallow
It is said here than the framework that you can select depends on the version of Xamarin, but my version is already v8.x
Other forums also said to install the SDK Platform for your target framework, but even if I installed API 27, it still didn't show up in the target framework
I also updated the tools to the latest version
How to add the other API to the selection? What other things did I missed?

Android: What sdk do I need to install

If I make an app targeting sdk2.2(api8) to sdk4.4.2, do I need to install every sdk from 2.2-4.4.2? Also should I install all the Android Build Tools?
Thank you for your time.
No, in the specific case you mentioned: MinSdk 2.2 to TargetSdk 4.4.2.
You only need to download the SDK for Android 4.4.2, not 2.2. Nor do you need the SDKs in between.
But yes, you do need to download the latest Android Build Tools and keep those up-to-date.

Android: Build SDK?

I'm building an Android app, I'm a newbie and I was wondering what build SDK and Minimum required SDK is recommended?
Also what does each one mean?
Upto my knowledge build SDK means which Android O.S version you are building against and
Minimum required SDK means: the minimum Android O.S version you want to support.
For Example
If build SDK = 2.3.3
and Minimum required SDK = 2.2
then your application will run on 2.2 and above

is it necessary to keep older versions of Android SDK installed with Android SDK Manager?

In the Android DSK Manager under "Installed Packages", I see things like:
SDK Platform Android 3.2
SDK Platform Android 3.1
SDK Platform Android 3.0
SDK Platform Android 2.3
SDK Platform Android 2.2
SDK Platform Android 2.1
SDK Platform Android 1.6
SDK Platform Android 1.5
Is it necessary to keep the older SDKs, if I am programming with the latest SDK?
No. You dont need older packages if you are sure about developing with latest packages.
You dont need to keep those packages which your application is not using. Generally you should keep those versions installed which your application is going to use. Like your application may use version from 8 to 10. So no need to keep lower than 8. So that depends on your application which version it will use.
Its too late but I would like to share my experience.
Yes, if you are using Instant Run and using SDK 21 or higher then you should keep SDK Platforms.
For Example, if have deleted the SDK Platform 22 and testing on Android 5.1 device or emulator then Android Studio will ask you to install SDK Platform if you want to use instant run else instant run will not work.

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