How to make Room database backward compatible?

When creating a Room database in an Android application, it is essential to ensure backward compatibility, especially when dealing with schema migrations. Here are some tips and an example for achieving this.

Steps to Make Room Database Backward Compatible

  1. Define a versioning system for your database schema.
  2. Implement migration strategies to handle schema changes.
  3. Test your migrations thoroughly to ensure data integrity.
  4. Use shared preferences or fallback methods for older versions if necessary.

Example Migration Code

import androidx.room.migration.Migration; import androidx.sqlite.db.SupportSQLiteDatabase; public static final Migration MIGRATION_1_2 = new Migration(1, 2) { @Override public void migrate(SupportSQLiteDatabase database) { database.execSQL("ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN last_name TEXT"); } };

Room database Android backward compatibility schema migration database versioning