How to apply a theme depending on Android version

Question

Currently I have a theme specified in AndroidManifest.xml file:

android:theme="@android:style/Theme.Holo.Light"

Now I'm working to create the application backward compatible. As long as Gingerbread doesn't have Theme.Holo.Light I'll use Theme.Light but how to apply needed theme depending on OS version?

Answer 1

Use resource qualifiers for your values folder:

e.g. res/values-v11

Have your style reference Theme.Light in the standard res/values/styles.xml, then reference Theme.Holo.Light in res/values-v11/styles.xml. If it's running on API 11+, it will automatically choose Holo; otherwise, it will fall back to the standard Theme.Light specified in res/values/styles.xml.