<uses-sdk>

syntax:
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="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. To declare your application's minimum API Level compatibility, use the minSdkVersion attribute.

The default level is 1.

For more information on the API level, see the Specifying Minimum System API Version section of Versioning Your Applications.

attributes:
android:minSdkVersion
An integer designating the minimum level of the Android API that's required for the application to run.

Despite its name, this attribute specifies the API Level, not the version number of the SDK (software development kit). The API Level is always a single integer; the SDK version may be split into major and minor components (such as 1.5). You cannot derive the API Level from the SDK version number (for example, it is not the same as the major version or the sum of the major and minor versions). To learn what the API Level is, check the notes that came with the SDK you're using.

Prior to installing an application, the Android system checks the value of this attribute and allows the installation only if the API Level is less than or equal to the API Level used by the system itself.

If you do not declare this attribute, then a value of "1" is assumed, which indicates that your application is compatible with all versions of Android. If your application is not universally compatible (for instance if it uses APIs introduced in Android 1.5) and you have not declared the proper minSdkVersion, then when installed on a system with a lower API Level, the application will crash during runtime. For this reason, be certain to declare the appropriate API Level in the minSdkVersion attribute.

introduced in:
API Level 1
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