Forward or Backward Compatibility in Android?

android compatibility forward
sunil picture sunil · Jan 29, 2010 · Viewed 13.6k times · Source

I would like to know whether the Android provides any sort of compatibility i.e either forward or backward. It means as in Blackberry if develop an Application with JDE 4.2 then that application will work on any handset with OS 4.2 or higher which means it has forward compatibility. Is there anything similar in Android?

Suppose I develop application with Android SDK 1.5 then will that application work on any handset having OS 1.5 or higher.

Hope to get a reply soon.

Thanks & Regards Sunil

Answer

Zac Bowling picture Zac Bowling · Jan 29, 2010

Forward compat is somewhat assured on major versions. On Android you target a minimum api spec. As long as your are not calling private APIs, Google keeps compatibility going forward on devices that join in on their Open Mobile Alliance.

It doesn't mean someone can't get the Android source and release an Android based OS of their own that breaks all compatibility. These devices wouldn't get Google's Market Place because only licensed devices that Google tests get to use that. If that is where you are releasing, you probably won't have any trouble.

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