由于minSdkVersion，无法在Android项目中使用新方法

Question

I want to support API Level 14+ devices, so minSdkVersion of my android project is "14" now.

But I can't call newer methods, even though I put those code in if statements.

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 18) {
    // new method calls
    Log.i("MY_APP", "Total: " + new StatFs("/sdcard").getTotalBytes());
} else {
    // deprecated method calls
}

And <uses-sdk/> tag in AndroidManifest.xml is this.

<uses-sdk
   android:minSdkVersion="14"
   android:targetSdkVersion="21" />

The error message is like this.

Call requires API level 18 (current min is 14): android.os.StatFs#getTotalBytes

In order to compile this project, I have to change minSdkVersion attribute

but this doesn't help at all, because I lose support for older devices.

I tried adjusting targetSdkVersion too, but this doesn't work.

How can I compile my project without changing minSdkVersion?

Do I have to use deprecated methods only?

Is there any chances for deprecated methods to be removed soon?

PS. I'm using eclipse but not Android Studio now.

Answer 1

Modify your gradle file to look something like this:

android {
    compileSdkVersion 23 // for example
    // other stuff...

    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 14
        targetSdkVersion 23
        //...
    }
    //...
}

Set targetSdkVersion to the highest API on which app has been tested. Keep targetSdkVersion and compileSdkVersion the same.

EDIT:

Okay, so you said you are using Eclipse (please change it already to Android Studio! :)) so you can use these in AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-sdk 
      android:minSdkVersion="14"
      android:targetSdkVersion="23" />

Reference