I'm new To android ecosystem.
Do I really need to install all the SDK from Android 1.5 to Android 4.1? to create an app which will support almost all the Android versions
No, one should be fine. Pick the latest one. So 4.1 be it!
Just set your apps mininum sdk version to the desired api level.
Eclipse should warn you if you use stuff that aint working on that minumum version.
Do I really need to install all the SDK from Android 1.5 to Android 4.1? to create an app which will support almost all the Android versions
You need to test your app on any version that you intend to support. For those Android versions that you have a physical device for, you can test your app on that (most likely). For anything else, you will at least need to download the emulator images, so you can create emulators for those older Android versions.
Related
so I'm using QT to develop an app for Android, and according to Sophos Mobile Security this app is "Built for outdated Android versions: this app doesn't support recent android security features. the app was built for an older version of android"
in qt creator I have android-25 set as the android build sdk (which I wouldn't consider old after all, it's 7.1.1 nougat)
how can I make this warning go away? Is there a way to build my app for a newer version of android without excluding users from using it? (I have 7.1.1, and at least I want to use my app)
thank you for your response in advance.
EDIT:
seems like there are (at least?) 3 spots where I can set an SDK version:
minimum required sdk, as seen on the screenshot here: Qt for android: change the application icon
target SDK version, as seen on the screenshot above
this was the only one I was aware an hour ago: projects->build->build android apk->android build sdk
what they govern, how to set them? should they be the same or different?
Android suggests you use the latest sdk version for targetSdkVersion and for build-tools version (they have to match). In fact, Google Play now requires you to target at least SDK 26. This will not prevent older devices from running app. Actually it will be more problematic for newer devices, as you are stating that app has been fully tested and can run on newer devices, and does not need backward compatibility. See https://developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/develop/target-sdk for more details.
As for minSdkVersion, that is what will determine the earliest devices supported, and you should try to keep it as low as you can, and as 95-99% of your users.
I just installed the android apk and adt plugin for eclipse. Further in the sdk manager , I've installed all the tools , Android 4.4.2(API 19) , Android 2.1(API 7) as well as the android support library and google USB driver. Now what i want to know about is , are these packages enough to start development or am i still missing everything ?
Further what i want to know is, if i want my app to be compatible with all android versions , do i need to install all versions of Android API ??
This should be enough.
No, you just need the newest SDK, set the build target to that API version and all lower versions will be supported. For keeping backwards-compatibility, you'll also have to make sure to use APIs that are supported on the lowest SDK version you want to support
Short answer: You only have to install the ones you want to develop for.
My advice in to install at least the 5 most common ones to be able to test your app against these version.
You probably want your app to be also available for users which didn't yet update to Android 4.4.2.
I am very new to the android development. I currently installed Android 4.0.3(API 15) via android sdk manager. I am in great confusion if this version is enough to develop the android apps or we should install from Android 1.5 (API 3) to the latest. Thanks in advance.
Depends which versions you want to support.
This depends on your users and features you use.
(Also, I hate the emulator, so depends on what device you actually have access to!)
If you're only playing around and figuring things out don't worry about it and just use the most recent.
To get a sense of what each version has changed, take a look at the platform highlights:
4.0
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.3.4
2.3.3
2.2
2.1
With regards to learning, 4 is much better than 3, since 4 is open source, so you can look at the source. In fact if you're using Eclipse, you can browse the source within your project!
I would like to test and distribute my phonegap app. It already runs for iPhone.
At first I installed the newest SDK (4.0.3) but this one does not run on my phone. So... i guess I have to install more.
What do I need to install in the Android SDK Manager?
All SDKs? Do I need the Sample/Arm/GoogleAPI/Sources too?
Generally I install all the SDK versions as it is good to be able to test on the various emulators to make sure you app works in all versions of Android. You should always build your application with the latest SDK but in your AndroidManifest.xml file you should have a android:minSdkVersion set to the lowest Android level you want your app to run on. For now I recommend 7 (Android 2.1) as 97% of the phones are running 2.1 or above.
As you can see in the platform versions chart here it is recommended to use Android 2.1 or 2.2 SDK to cover almost all the Android devices on the market.
I think you don't need Sample/ARM/Sources, though if you need to use Google proprietary API (for example Google Maps API) you need to use Google API versions of 2.1 or 2.2.
You only need the SDK that matches the API level you intend to build for.
This page: http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
has a breakdown of what devices are most active in currrent use (accessed market within 2 weeks)
Judging by that, if you target 2.1 you'd be able to install your app on 98.3% of all such devices.
It is generally best to pick the oldest platform that supports all of the features you need. Just stay at or above 1.6, that is when support for multiple screen sizes was introduced.
As I think, the best solution is SDK 2.2. Many devices work with this android version.
On your Android phone go to settings->About Phone and view the Android version. This should be the sdk you will need. Afterwords, you can just change the target android sdk version in your app and it should run on your phone. As for the folders you speak of - they contain some examples, the source code of the sdk and some additional apis to use google services. It is up to you whether you will need them. You will definitely need the platform-tools from the Android SDK manager - they provide you with the adb tool that enables you to upload applications to your device.
I am working on application which should go into android 2.2(Froyo) and android 2.3(GingerBread) devices.
I have built application with android 2.3 SDK , and Installed the same application in 2.2(Froyo) and 2.3 (Ginger Bread) devices.
In both the devices application installed successfully and it is working properly.
I want to know if we install the higher version build into lower version devices is there any chances to face problems.
Till now I didn't found any issue with this.
I didn't used the MIN:SDK version field in the Manifest file.
If you want only users from version 2.2 and up to download your app, just make sure your minimum SDK version is 2.2 by putting this line in your AndroidManifest.xml:
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" />
If you want an upper bound limit as well, you can add:
android:maxSdkVersion="10"
So users with Android SDK version 2.2 up to 2.3.3 will be able to install your app.
Regarding problems: If you're using a specific SDK API then just make sure to add an if clause around it to make sure you're on the right version. The best thing to do is change the target to 2.2 just to see if you have any compilation errors... Then you'd know what to change.
Then just fix the problems, change back to 2.3 and build.
If you don't specify the minimum sdk attribute in the manifest file users with 2.2 won't see your application on the market. It specifies that your application supports 2.2 so that users can see the app on the market.
Make sure any functionality that you use from 2.3 has an alternative functionality so that 2.2 users have the ability to actually use your application.
yes , u can find problem ,
try to install that app on android 1.6
it's about API version , there will be some APIs in your app doesn't supported in a lower API version