Please note that the contents of this offline web site may be out of date. To access the most recent documentation visit the online version .
Note that links that point to online resources are green in color and will open in a new window.
We would love it if you could give us feedback about this material by filling this form (You have to be online to fill it)
  • Building Apps with
    User Info & Location
  • Building Apps for
    Wearables
  • Best Practices for
    Interaction & Engagement
  • Best Practices for
    User Interface
  • Best Practices for
    User Input
  • Best Practices for
    Background Jobs
  • Best Practices for
    Performance
  • Best Practices for
    Security & Privacy
  • Best Practices for
    Testing
  • Using Google Play to
    Distribute & Monetize

    • Creating Backward-Compatible UIs

    Previous Next Get started

    Dependencies and prerequisites

    You should also read

    Try it out

    Download the sample app

    TabCompat.zip

    This class demonstrates how to use UI components and APIs available in newer versions of Android in a backward-compatible way, ensuring that your application still runs on previous versions of the platform.

    Throughout this class, the new Action Bar Tabs feature introduced in Android 3.0 (API level 11) serves as the guiding example, but you can apply these techniques to other UI components and API features.

    Lessons

    Abstracting the New APIs
    Determine which features and APIs your application needs. Learn how to define application-specific, intermediary Java interfaces that abstract the implementation of the UI component to your application.
    Proxying to the New APIs
    Learn how to create an implementation of your interface that uses newer APIs.
    Creating an Implementation with Older APIs
    Learn how to create a custom implementation of your interface that uses older APIs.
    Using the Version-Aware Component
    Learn how to choose an implementation to use at runtime, and begin using the interface in your application.
    Next Get started Next class