can I use API level 11 on android 2.2? - android

Maybe stupid question but I am developing for android 2.2 to 4.1. Can I use this functionality http://developer.android.com/reference/android/preference/PreferenceFragment.html which is available only from API 11?
or must I use old http://developer.android.com/reference/android/preference/PreferenceActivity.html which has some deprecated methods.
Will old API works well on android 4.1?

PreferenceFragment will not work on 2.2 and 2.3 (only API level 11 and above). But above versions can use the older one. So you could just go with the old PreferenceActivity - deprected methods just mean that they should be avoided, but they usually still works.
CommonsWare have before wrote, that to offer the best experience for the user and still support version 2.2, you should implement two PreferenceActivity classes and then decide at runtime which one to invoke. This can be done by checking Build.VERSION.SDK_INT and compare against '11'.
See the accepted answer here for implementation:
PreferenceActivity Android 4.0 and earlier

yes you can use. right click on project --> select properites --> click on android --> select any target ..
any higher version google taget can run in lower version i.e, classes can be imported.. but it may possible to throw the exception if lower version wont support the class ...

Related

Purpose of Android Support Library

I am getting started with Android. I am quite confused with what support library actually does . I am following a book and in the book it is mentioned that :
If an app is installed on a minimum SDK system, and our Java code
contains any calls to classes that are not present in minimum SDK ,
our app will crash
I read an article about support libraries here:
Tutorials Point
If Support libraries provide backward compatibility, doesn't it mean when they should prevent app crash?(may be by wrapping up those newer classes and making them backward compatible). What does support library actually do? Please explain.
When should I use the Android Support Library?
As new versions of Android are released, some style and behaviors may change. You should use one of the support libraries when you need specific framework features that are newer than the minSdkVersion of your app or that are not available in the standard framework.
What does support library actually do?
There are many devices still running in Jelly bean and below versions. So you need to give the same importance for old and new devices While making an app. Otherwise, the App in old devices looks dull when compared to new ones. That may affect the app’s market. To avoid this trouble, Android introduced the Support library. These are set of code libraries provides backward compatibility
Example:
Fragment API was introduced in API 11 HONEYCOMB .android.app.Fragment is the Fragment class introduced in API 11 and android.support.v4.app.Fragment is the Fragment class in the android support library,
If you want to make your app use fragments, and want to target devices before API 11, you must use android.support.v4.app.Fragment. However, if you want only targeting devices >=API 11 ,you can use android.app.Fragment.Therefore, android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager is used to deliver newer features to older platforms.
For more info about android support library:doc
1.Suppose you want to create an app which runs on platform comes after marshmallow.
then minimum sdk of your app will be marshmallow.
2.While creating your app you call a method which is present in oreo or later version then you app will have chances to crash on marshmallow and nougat.

Android Version Differences

I would like to know whether android has supports for the older versions. There are 15 different levels for android currently and I wonder about the followings.
Can a project made on level 5 be used on the devices whose level higher than 5?
How can I find the detailed differences between all the levels. For example, android.widget.VideoView starts with which level?
Assume I made a project based on level 8 nowadays and after a while like 2 years, level 20 has been introduced by that time. And I would like to use one of the classes that belongs to the level 20. I guess there is no way for me to use that class without upgrading my project level to the 20. In this case, is it possible that level 20 doesn't accept some of the classes I used with level 8? If yes, what can be the solution? Can I download the jar file of level 20 and reference it in my project manually? If possible, does this mean that I don't have to upgrade my project level to 20 in order to use classes of level 20?
I am going to start a project in a few days. However, I didn't decide the level yet. I got confused the differences of levels.
Yes Until know all Levels are backward compatible and most likley this will continue a while.
http://developer.android.com/reference/packages.html -> Filter by API Level
Yes you have to upgrade. But you can set the compatibility to a level below that. Than you have to take care that none of the Methods of lvl 20 will be executed in lvl <=19. You can do this by determine the current Version while running your App Build.VERSION.SDK_INT gets you the API level.
Hope this helps:
1- Yes A project made on lower levels will work on higher levels.
2- In the page of the component. For example for android video view you can check in the top right corner SINCE: API LEVEL 1
3-You are right, if you want to use level 20 classes your project will have to be upgraded to level 20, but as far as I know there are no compatibility issues for higher versions. You should take note about the deprecated classes though. Avoid using them because they might not be available later.
1 - yes. Android devices support running code from older levels.
2 - look through the Android docs. It even lets you filter by API level.
3 - Higher levels always let you use the lower level classes. It's just not recommended.
To decide what to support, I looked at the current distribution dashboard to see what was really out there and using the market. I went with level 7 for what I was doing, but that's just me. Level 8 would also be a good place to work from.
Also, if you want to access the better parts of the API on supported devices, but still work on older versions of the API, there's advice in the answers to this question.

Choosing the right API Level for my android application

I currently have a application targeted at android 2.3 (api level 10), but went thinking that probably people using android 2.1/2.2 or older won't even be able to see the application in the market.
So I thought that using api level 3 would be the best to use, but I don't know if this will maybe make certain elements in my app work less good, and probably buggier, since it actually uses old android code. Is there a good way to find out which API level I should use, and also, how do I convert my application to that level?
You can find a breakdown of the different versions of Android in use here. Currently, if you target 2.1 (API 7) you'll only miss out on about 3% of the market. Targeting 2.2 will miss just under 20%, or a fifth of the market.
As for converting your app, you can check what API level things are available for in the Android Reference. You'll note a checkbox and dropdown menu on the top right of the browsing area that allows you to filter by API level - that's one way to help converting. The other is to set the target and minimum SDK versions which will help Eclipse know what to complain about in your code. The easiest way to see if something needs conversion, however, is to emulate and test.
EDIT: The API level dropdown moved from the top right to the top left, over the list of APIs.
This graph may help you make up your mind.
It is good to look at backward compatibility and in general, you should compile your application against the lowest possible version of the platform that your application can support.
You can determine the lowest possible platform version by compiling the application against successively lower build targets. After you determine the lowest version, you should create an AVD using the corresponding platform version (and API Level) and fully test your application. Make sure to declare a android:minSdkVersion attribute in the application's manifest and set its value to the API Level of the platform version. Good luck!
If you have
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="4" android:targetSdkVersion="10"/>
then it will appear right down to 1.6, but make sure you don't use antyhing that they don't have in their API
edit: Don't bother with 3! :)
I started out developing for 1.5, but soon realized that only a small percentage of people still run 1.5. I generally develop at the 2.1 level, and leave it at that (unless you need features at a higher level). To change it, open your project properties, and while I don't have my environment open, there is an Android option where you will select what API level you want to target.
The Best API Level is contains follows
1) The best API covers 100% market but all are not prefect so our app should be covered at least 90% with all devices .
2)We have to care about backward compatibility issues and our code would adapt itself for upcoming versions.
3) Using the new Android SDK is a requirement to use any of the new APIs added in that level. It should be emphasized ... It is ultimately a business decision on whether supporting an additional 3% of devices is worth the development and testing .
4) check out this link https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/compatibility.html#defined
5) Finally choose the best API you will find best API

Supporting Android 1.5, features from Android 2.1 and no Reflection?

I currently have an app on the market that supports Android 1.5 (SDK level 3) and up. It also takes advantage of several features that are only present in Android 2.0 (SDK level 5) and up. I do this using Reflection.
I read a post on the Android Developer Blog that talks about how to support these new features while using no Reflection, which would be amazing.
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-have-your-cupcake-and-eat-it-too.html
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" android:targetSdkVersion="5" />
I have tested this out and while it works there is one huge downfall. Currently if I try to add a SDK level 5 class, but I don't know that it's a SDK level 5 class, there is no worries. Eclipse isnt going to find the class and I'm not going to be able to add it.
Using Google's recommended method does allow me to add the classes and gives me no notification that this code is targeted just to SDK level 5 users. This opens up too big of a possibility of adding in code that would break some users without knowing.
Does anyone know of any plugins, options, etc that would warn me at the places I have targeted SDK level 5 to keep this from happening?
One possible way, and I havent tested this, would be to individually change Android manifest file and set android:targetSdkVersion to each SDK and try to compile. That way you will be able to sequentially test out each SDK support.

Confused about Android API's and compatability

I have purchased an HTC Incredible and have dived into the world of android! Only to find myself totally confused about the API levels and backward compatibility.
My device runs the 2.1 OS, but I know that most of the devices out there run 1.5 or 1.6; and soon the 2.2 OS will be running on new devices. The SDK has gone through such enormous changes, that even constants have been renamed (from VIEW_ACTION to ACTION_VIEW for example). Methods have been added and removed (onPause replacing the earlier call, etc al).
So, If I want to write an application that will work from 1.6+, does that mean I have to install and write my code using the 1.6 API; then test on later versions? Or can I write using the 2.1 SDK and just set the minSDK level and not use "new" features?
I have never worked with an SDK that changes SO drastically from release to release! So I am not sure what to do....
I read through an article on the Android Development site(and this posting on stack overflow that references it: Should a legacy Android application be rebuilt using SDK 2.1?), but it was still not very clear to me.
Any help would be appreciated
The SDK has gone through such enormous
changes, that even constants have been
renamed (from VIEW_ACTION to
ACTION_VIEW for example). Methods have
been added and removed (onPause
replacing the earlier call, etc al).
Those were two years ago, on a beta version of the platform, before there were any shipping devices. Since Android 1.0, there has been very little that breaks forward compatibility, mostly in the area of settings that were moved into a secure API so SDK applications cannot mess with them.
So, If I want to write an application
that will work from 1.6+, does that
mean I have to install and write my
code using the 1.6 API; then test on
later versions? Or can I write using
the 2.1 SDK and just set the minSDK
level and not use "new" features?
You make it seem like those are mutually exclusive. In fact, they are largely identical.
Keep your toolset on the latest version of the Android development tools
Put the minSdkVersion in your manifest to state what is the lowest API level you want to support
Put the targetSdkVersion in your manifest to state what your "target" API level is, so Android can apply some compatibility helpers if your app runs on a newer version of Android (typically, you "target" the then-current API level)
Write your code mostly to the API level you specified in minSdkVersion, optionally using reflection or conditional class loading to access newer APIs on devices that support them
Test on everything you can get your hands on, at least emulators for the different API levels
You can use the current SDK and set minSDK level to whatever level you want. If you do this then you cannot use any functionality that is not in the minSDK. It is also a good idea though to test it on all versions of the SDK with the emulator.
<uses-sdk minSDK="4" targetSDK="8"/>
That lets it know that you are targeting 2.2 but the minimum SDK level you want your app to run on is 1.6. By doing that you can use some of the new xml stuff in the newer versions like supports-screen and different drawables for different screens, etc.

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