Android Min Sdk Version Vs. Target Sdk Version

Android Min SDK Version vs. Target SDK Version

android:minSdkVersion

An integer designating the minimum API Level required for the application to run. The Android system will prevent the user from installing the application if the system's API Level is lower than the value specified in this attribute. You should always declare this attribute.

android:targetSdkVersion

An integer designating the API Level that the application is targetting.

With this attribute set, the application says that it is able to run on older versions (down to minSdkVersion), but was explicitly tested to work with the version specified here. Specifying this target version allows the platform to disable compatibility settings that are not required for the target version (which may otherwise be turned on in order to maintain forward-compatibility) or enable newer features that are not available to older applications. This does not mean that you can program different features for different versions of the platform—it simply informs the platform that you have tested against the target version and the platform should not perform any extra work to maintain forward-compatibility with the target version.

For more information refer this URL:

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html

What is the difference between min SDK version/target SDK version vs. compile SDK version?

The min sdk version is the earliest release of the Android SDK that your application can run on. Usually this is because of a problem with the earlier APIs, lacking functionality, or some other behavioural issue.

The target sdk version is the version your application was targeted to run on. Ideally, this is because of some sort of optimal run conditions. If you were to "make your app for version 19", this is where that would be specified. It may run on earlier or later releases, but this is what you were aiming for. This is mostly to indicate how current your application is for use in the marketplace, etc.

The compile sdk version is the version of android your IDE (or other means of compiling I suppose) uses to make your app when you publish a .apk file. This is useful for testing your application as it is a common need to compile your app as you develop it. As this will be the version to compile to an APK, it will naturally be the version of your release. Likewise, it is advisable to have this match your target sdk version.

Android Studio What is the difference between minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion and minSdk, targetSdk?

There is no such thing named minSdk , targetSdk and compileSdk in build.gradle.
you should config your app compatibility like this :

android {
    compileSdkVersion 30
    buildToolsVersion "30.0.3"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.app.test"
        minSdkVersion 21
        targetSdkVersion 30
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0.0"
    }
}

what is the difference between min sdk , target sdk and compile with ? in android

Simply,

Minimun SDK : API 14

refers that that your application will only run on mobile phone with api level 14 ie.(ICS 4.0) or higher. Your app will fail to run on previous versions of android like gingerbread & froyo.

Target SDK : API 17

refers to the version of android you want to build for, which is Jellybean on your case. It is recommended to keep latest as far as possible which is (api 20 Kitkat at present context).

Compile With : API 14

refers to version of andriod you are testing on. Complile with api 14 means you are going to test your app on ICS.

you could also watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxo5zMcOCXM>

Android: If I choose minSdkVersion=4 and targetSdkVersion=19 then in which sdk version my android app will be developed?

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="integer"
          android:targetSdkVersion="integer"
          android:maxSdkVersion="integer" />

contained in:

<manifest>

description:

Lets you express an application's compatibility with one or more versions of the Android platform, by means of an API Level integer. The API Level expressed by an application will be compared to the API Level of a given Android system, which may vary among different Android devices.

Despite its name, this element is used to specify the API Level, not the version number of the SDK (software development kit) or Android platform. The API Level is always a single integer. You cannot derive the API Level from its associated Android version number (for example, it is not the same as the major version or the sum of the major and minor versions).

Also read the document about Versioning Your Applications.
attributes:

android:minSdkVersion

An integer designating the minimum API Level required for the application to run. The Android system will prevent the user from installing the application if the system's API Level is lower than the value specified in this attribute. You should always declare this attribute.

Caution: If you do not declare this attribute, the system assumes a default value of "1", which indicates that your application is compatible with all versions of Android. If your application is not compatible with all versions (for instance, it uses APIs introduced in API Level 3) and you have not declared the proper minSdkVersion, then when installed on a system with an API Level less than 3, the application will crash during runtime when attempting to access the unavailable APIs. For this reason, be certain to declare the appropriate API Level in the minSdkVersion attribute.
android:targetSdkVersion
An integer designating the API Level that the application targets. If not set, the default value equals that given to minSdkVersion.

This attribute informs the system that you have tested against the target version and the system should not enable any compatibility behaviors to maintain your app's forward-compatibility with the target version. The application is still able to run on older versions (down to minSdkVersion).

As Android evolves with each new version, some behaviors and even appearances might change. However, if the API level of the platform is higher than the version declared by your app's targetSdkVersion, the system may enable compatibility behaviors to ensure that your app continues to work the way you expect. You can disable such compatibility behaviors by specifying targetSdkVersion to match the API level of the platform on which it's running. For example, setting this value to "11" or higher allows the system to apply a new default theme (Holo) to your app when running on Android 3.0 or higher and also disables screen compatibility mode when running on larger screens (because support for API level 11 implicitly supports larger screens).

There are many compatibility behaviors that the system may enable based on the value you set for this attribute. Several of these behaviors are described by the corresponding platform versions in the Build.VERSION_CODES reference.

To maintain your application along with each Android release, you should increase the value of this attribute to match the latest API level, then thoroughly test your application on the corresponding platform version.

Introduced in: API Level 4
android:maxSdkVersion
An integer designating the maximum API Level on which the application is designed to run.

In Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, and 2.0.1, the system checks the value of this attribute when installing an application and when re-validating the application after a system update. In either case, if the application's maxSdkVersion attribute is lower than the API Level used by the system itself, then the system will not allow the application to be installed. In the case of re-validation after system update, this effectively removes your application from the device.

To illustrate how this attribute can affect your application after system updates, consider the following example:

An application declaring maxSdkVersion="5" in its manifest is published on Google Play. A user whose device is running Android 1.6 (API Level 4) downloads and installs the app. After a few weeks, the user receives an over-the-air system update to Android 2.0 (API Level 5). After the update is installed, the system checks the application's maxSdkVersion and successfully re-validates it. The application functions as normal. However, some time later, the device receives another system update, this time to Android 2.0.1 (API Level 6). After the update, the system can no longer re-validate the application because the system's own API Level (6) is now higher than the maximum supported by the application (5). The system prevents the application from being visible to the user, in effect removing it from the device.

Warning: Declaring this attribute is not recommended. First, there is no need to set the attribute as means of blocking deployment of your application onto new versions of the Android platform as they are released. By design, new versions of the platform are fully backward-compatible. Your application should work properly on new versions, provided it uses only standard APIs and follows development best practices. Second, note that in some cases, declaring the attribute can result in your application being removed from users' devices after a system update to a higher API Level. Most devices on which your application is likely to be installed will receive periodic system updates over the air, so you should consider their effect on your application before setting this attribute.

Introduced in: API Level 4
Future versions of Android (beyond Android 2.0.1) will no longer check or enforce the maxSdkVersion attribute during installation or re-validation. Google Play will continue to use the attribute as a filter, however, when presenting users with applications available for download.

What is the minimum SDK version should I choose? (as in Nov 2018)

The Android Dashboard may answer your question. It contains the most accurate distribution of Android versions with an average delta of 7 days. The current page claims :

Data collected during a 7-day period ending on October 26, 2018.

So you're pretty accurate with this.

To answer your question, based on the dashboard, targeting the API version 19 will cover 96.5% of all current Android devices worldwide

What is the difference between compileSdkVersion and targetSdkVersion?

compileSdkVersion

The compileSdkVersion is the version of the API the app is compiled against. This means you can use Android API features included in that version of the API (as well as all previous versions, obviously). If you try and use API 16 features but set compileSdkVersion to 15, you will get a compilation error. If you set compileSdkVersion to 16 you can still run the app on a API 15 device as long as your app's execution paths do not attempt to invoke any APIs specific to API 16.

targetSdkVersion

The targetSdkVersion has nothing to do with how your app is compiled or what APIs you can utilize. The targetSdkVersion is supposed to indicate that you have tested your app on (presumably up to and including) the version you specify. This is more like a certification or sign off you are giving the Android OS as a hint to how it should handle your app in terms of OS features.

For example, as the documentation states:

For example, setting this value to "11" or higher allows the system to apply a new default theme (Holo) to your app when running on Android 3.0 or higher...

The Android OS, at runtime, may change how your app is stylized or otherwise executed in the context of the OS based on this value. There are a few other known examples that are influenced by this value and that list is likely to only increase over time.

For all practical purposes, most apps are going to want to set targetSdkVersion to the latest released version of the API. This will ensure your app looks as good as possible on the most recent Android devices. If you do not specify the targetSdkVersion, it defaults to the minSdkVersion.

Android app is supporting android 11 even when compile and target SDK Versions are set to 28(android 9)

From the official documentation:

android:minSdkVersion:

An integer designating the minimum API Level required for the application to run. The Android system will prevent the user from installing the application if the system's API Level is lower than the value specified in this attribute. You should always declare this attribute.

android:targetSdkVersion

An integer designating the API Level that the application targets. […]
This attribute informs the system that you have tested against the target version and the system should not enable any compatibility behaviors to maintain your app's forward-compatibility with the target version. The application is still able to run on older versions (down to minSdkVersion).

That means, if the app is installed in a device with a higher SDK, then the system will try not to enable compatibility features BUT the app will still run.

Otherwise, if a new Android version was released, then no app would be available for it unless developers updated their apps.

android:maxSdkVersion

An integer designating the maximum API Level on which the application is designed to run.
[…]. In either case, if the application's maxSdkVersion attribute is lower than the API Level used by the system itself, then the system will not allow the application to be installed. In the case of re-validation after system update, this effectively removes your application from the device.

The app will be allowed in EVERY version between minSdkVersion and maxSdkVersion.

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