Java 8 Compatibility in Android Development: Exploring the Official Stance

While Android's support for Java 8 has been a subject of uncertainty, this question aims to clarify the situation through "official" documentation.

Answer:

As of November 4, 2017, Android Studio 3.0 now officially supports Java 8, eliminating the need for gradle-retrolambda. For detailed migration instructions, refer to https://developer.android.com/studio/write/java8-support.html.

Historical Context:

Prior to Android Studio 3.0, Android did not offer native support for Java 8. The platform only supported up to Java 7, even on KitKat. Additionally, it lacked invokedynamic capabilities, allowing only the use of Java 8 syntax sugar.

Workaround Using gradle-retrolambda:

To utilize lambda expressions, a key feature of Java 8, developers employed gradle-retrolambda. This dependency integrated retrolambda, a tool that converted Java 8 bytecode to the Java 6/7 syntax. Consequently, the compiler in Android Studio could compile Java 8 bytecode, which was then converted back to Java 6/7 bytecode and eventually to Dalvik bytecode – a workaround for using Java 8 features on Android.

Current Status and Migration:

With Android Studio 3.0's native Java 8 support, developers can now leverage Java 8 capabilities without relying on gradle-retrolambda. The link provided in the answer offers migration guidelines for those using gradle-retrolambda.