What is difference between compileSdk and compileSdkVersion in android studio gradle script when using jetpack compose

Question

When I created new android project with jetpack compose toolkit with or without kotlin dsl I found that in module level build.gradle file the property compileSdkVersion has been replaced by compileSdk. I also found that android sdk version "android-S" couldn't be added to compileSdk for that compileSdkVersion = "android-S" needed to be added seperately. My question is what exactly is difference between compileSdk and compileSdkVersion.

build.gradle.kts(Module:Compose.app)

android {
    compileSdk = 30
    buildToolsVersion = "30.0.3"
    compileSdkVersion = "android-S"
}

Answer 1

With the new Android Gradle Plugin 7.0.0 (currently 7.0.0-alpha14) you can use:

• minSdk instead of minSdkVersion
• targetSdk instead of targetSdkVersion
• compileSdk instead of compileSdkVersion

These attributes work with an Int and you can use them with something like:

//minSdkVersion 21
//targetSdkVersion 30
minSdk 21
targetSdk 30

If you want to use a preview version you have to use:

• minSdkPreview
• targetSdkPreview
• compileSdkPreview

These attributes work with a String and setting these values will override previous values of minSdk/targetSdk/compileSdk.

About the String format of the preview versions currently (7.0.0-alpha14) it is not clear. Maybe it will change with 7.0.0-beta01 (you can check this commit) and it should be:

compileSdkPreview = "S"