Call requires API level 26 (current min is 23): java.time.Instant#now

Question

I'm implementing Google's Directions API. My app supports minSdkVersion 23 and java.time.Instant is not supported here.

Is there a solution for this, or should i just check for user's version and allow this functionality if it's version is supported?

    DirectionsResult directionsResult = DirectionsApi.newRequest(geoApiContext)
            .mode(TravelMode.DRIVING)
            .origin(new com.google.maps.model.LatLng(mapFragment.getUserCoords().latitude, mapFragment.getUserCoords().longitude))
            .destination(tabHandlerCommunication.destinationBarCoords)
            .departureTime(Instant.now()) // <-- error here
            .await();

Error:

Call requires API level 26 (current min is 23): java.time.Instant#now less... (Ctrl+F1) Inspection info:This check scans through all the Android API calls in the application and warns about any calls that are not available on all versions targeted by this application (according to its minimum SDK attribute in the manifest). If you really want to use this API and don't need to support older devices just set the minSdkVersion in your build.gradle or AndroidManifest.xml files. If your code is deliberately accessing newer APIs, and you have ensured (e.g. with conditional execution) that this code will only ever be called on a supported platform, then you can annotate your class or method with the @TargetApi annotation specifying the local minimum SDK to apply, such as @TargetApi(11), such that this check considers 11 rather than your manifest file's minimum SDK as the required API level. If you are deliberately setting android: attributes in style definitions, make sure you place this in a values-vNN folder in order to avoid running into runtime conflicts on certain devices where manufacturers have added custom attributes whose ids conflict with the new ones on later platforms. Similarly, you can use tools:targetApi="11" in an XML file to indicate that the element will only be inflated in an adequate context. Issue id: NewApi

Answer 1

If you're using Gradle plugin 4.0 or later (with Android Studio 4.0 or later), you can take advantage of D8 Core Library Desugaring. This includes a subset of the functionality found in java.time and will allow you to use java.time.Instant in your project; even if you need to support versions older than API 26.

In your module's build.gradle file:

android {

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        coreLibraryDesugaringEnabled true
    }

    // If using Kotlin
    kotlinOptions {
        jvmTarget = JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }
}
dependencies {
    …
    coreLibraryDesugaring 'com.android.tools:desugar_jdk_libs:1.0.5'
}

You should now be able to use this class error free.

Some sources:

• Styling Android
• Jake Wharton
• Android Developers

Answer 2

After reviewing the developer guide, it turned out that either String now,

as well as common int UNIX epoch timestamps, are being acceptable values:

departure_time — Specifies the desired time of departure. You can specify the time as an integer in seconds since midnight, January 1, 1970 UTC. Alternatively, you can specify a value of now, which sets the departure time to the current time (correct to the nearest second).

When checking the source code of the Java client, there is a convenience method for that:

public DirectionsApiRequest departureTimeNow() {
    return param("departure_time", "now");
}

Therefore java.time.Instant can be circumvented, for the backwards compatibility.

---

I've filed issue #559... forking the library seems to be the only way to set other timestamps.