Question

I have written an app for android, and I want to make it compatible to new and old versions of android.

For instance there’s the CursorLoader class that exists since API 11.

What I would like to achieve is to use the CursorLoader if the device runs with an API >=11 and use the deprecated managedQuery method if the device runs an older version.

What is the recommended approach in this case?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I believe cursor loader is included in the support library (CursorLoader).

To add the support library to your project:

• (In Eclipse, right click your project -> Android Tools -> Add Support Library…).
• Make sure you set your minSDK and targetSDK in your manifest. You should always target the highest available SDK (16 at this time).

Example pertinent part of the manifest:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.my.app"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0.0" >

    <uses-sdk
        android:minSdkVersion="8"
        android:targetSdkVersion="16" />

If you insist on not using the support library you can do things like

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
    /* Perform ICS method */
} 
else {
    /* Perform backwards-compatible method */
}

in your code.