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Need Some clarification about "android-support-v4.jar"


I am facing some questions on android-support-v4.jar now a days.

  1. What is android-support-v4.jar
  2. What will happen if we remove android-support-v4.jar from \libs folder
  3. Which class files are there in android-support-v4.jar
  4. What is exact usage of android-support-v4.jar in Android

Solution

    1. It is the Support Library for Android that provides backward compatibility for developers to use new API Level features in mobiles that doesn't provide that feature. Hence using Support Library you can broaden the range of targeted mobile devices.

    The Android Support Library package is a set of code libraries that provide backward-compatible versions of Android framework APIs as well as features that are only available through the library APIs. Each Support Library is backward-compatible to a specific Android API level. This design means that your applications can use the libraries' features and still be compatible with devices running Android 1.6 (API level 4) and up.

    1. You app or atleast some of the features will not work on Android Devices with Older API levels like Honeycomb or Freyo.

    2. You can see all the classes in android-support-v4.jar here.

    Eg: Including Support Library you can use ViewPager in API Level 8 which is Freyo.

    You can know everything about android-support-v4.jar here.