Can I use Deprecated methods?

Question

Are there any disadvantages to using deprecated methods in my code?

For example, I am using view.setBackgroundDrawable(background) in api 19 and it's working fine, but I want to know the proper way.

Answer 1

The main disadvantage is that the API might not be available in future versions, which will increase the cost of updating your application. It's also an indication that the SDK developers believe that there is a "better way" to do what you want to do.

Thus, in the end, it's a cost/value tradeoff: If the deprecated method is easy to replace, use the replacement. If it isn't, it's up to you to decide whether developing the "future-proof" way is worth the additional effort.

For example:

• setBackgroundDrawable can easily be replaced by setDrawable (see the comment in the documentation of setBackgroundDrawable).
• On the other hand, startManagingCursor is much harder to replace, so one might put off transitioning to ContentProvider until there is no other option.