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!
Related
The PhoneGap installation requires that I install Eclipse, and then use the Android SDK Manager to install the versions of the Android SDK/API. Each of these is a large download, and there is access to versions API 3 through API 21. However, I do not want to install them all and I would like advice on which is a good mix to use when I am not targeting a particular Android version but would like to cover as many devices as possible.
I checked the previous questions and I could not find this specific question from a search. I have noted an important question concerning the Android SDK Build Tools versions, but not the APIs to select.
Do I need to download more than one? Or is the latest (API 21) sufficient for my development work?
If you are aware of previous discussions on this that I have missed in my search I would greatly appreciate being pointed to these.
Phonegap is currently supporting Cordova 3.6.3 which requires API version 19. That is really the only version you need.
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'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.
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'm sure these are noobie questions, but I'd like to take care of these issues and such before I fully dive into the development process and literature that I have on hand for the Android OS. Okay, so, as per the Android programming book I have (the one by the Deitels and Morgano), aside from selecting for installation the latest revision of the Android SDK Tools, Android SDK Platform-tools, the SDK platforms for the 2.2, 2.3.3, 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2, I need to install the Documentation for Android SDK, API 13, revision 1. On the Android SDK Manager that I have on my laptop, under the Android 4.0.3, there's the 'Documentation for Android SDK'. However, it's the API 15, revision 1 version. I'm a bit confused, as, for one thing, isn't the Android 4.0.3 the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the OS? I'm just wondering if this documentation is supposed to work with all earlier versions of the OS or just with the 4.0. If it's the latter, then does the fact that it falls under the Android 4.0.3 directory merely refer to it's being the latest documentation for the Android SDK, in general or just for the Ice Cream Sandwich? In the screen shot from the book, there's a combined Android SDK and AVD manager, which is different from what I'm seeing, due to the new updates to Eclipse and Android. Also, the documentation and the SDK Platforms for all the versions that the book covers are shown under the 'Android Repository' which doesn't show up in the version I have running on my laptop. My final question (for now) is: Do I just need the SDK Platforms or do I also need to install everything that falls under the various API directories (e.g. samples for SDK, Google API's etc.)? Thanks in advance for any and all help.
See ya on the flipside,
Cyon Corell
I'm just wondering if this documentation is supposed to work with all earlier versions of the OS or just with the 4.0.
The documentation highlights when various classes and methods were added, in terms of their API levels.
In the screen shot from the book, there's a combined Android SDK and AVD manager, which is different from what I'm seeing, due to the new updates to Eclipse and Android.
Your book is slightly out of date. The SDK Manager and AVD Manager were split into separate windows a couple of months ago.
Do I just need the SDK Platforms or do I also need to install everything that falls under the various API directories (e.g. samples for SDK, Google API's etc.)?
You will want the Google APIs, as they give you access to Google Maps. Even if you do not plan on using Google Maps in your project, it is better if you test with emulators that have Google Maps, as they are incrementally closer to what most users have.
Whether you want the samples is up to you.