minsdkversion and targetsdkversion

satya - 12/12/2013 1:51:07 PM

Here is some very early notes on API levels in Android

satya - 12/12/2013 1:52:25 PM

Here is a typical advice as what you need to do for your app for each new Android release

satya - 12/12/2013 1:53:07 PM

Gist of it


Change targetSDKVersion to the latest version
compile it
test it
update it in the store

satya - 12/12/2013 1:53:28 PM

Here is what is the meaning of targetSDKVersion

satya - 12/12/2013 1:53:48 PM

minSDKVersion is self explanatory

satya - 12/12/2013 1:58:10 PM

Back to targetSDKVersion

Say you have an app api level 5 on a device. And further say you didnt explicitly say what it's target sdk is. then the target sdk is same as the minsdk which could be 5.

Say if that device is upgraded to API level 11. Then Android will try to give your app as close an environment as possible to that old API level, that default theme for that version etc.

But if you tested it on API level 14 and mentioned the target as 14 then Android will not further optimize that "5" app and assume it will work well in the new default theme.

satya - 12/12/2013 1:58:41 PM

Anyways read more from the web: minsdkversion and targetsdkversion

Search for: minsdkversion and targetsdkversion

satya - 12/12/2013 1:59:45 PM

As per the recommendation the target sdk should always point to the latest SDK

satya - 12/12/2013 2:00:10 PM

Here is Androids recommendation on supporting multiple versions

satya - 12/12/2013 2:00:39 PM

Here is a nice document on API levels from Android

satya - 12/12/2013 3:55:54 PM

Here is another recommendation from Android

After compiling your application, you should make sure to test it on the platform specified in the application's android:minSdkVersion attribute. To do so, create an AVD that uses the platform version required by your application. Additionally, to ensure forward-compatibility, you should run and test the application on all platforms that use a higher API Level than that used by your application.