Java compile source level higher than target level

Question

Does the Java compiler work well if using a target level lower than the source level? For example:

javac -source 1.7 -target 1.6

**[javac] javac: source release 1.7 requires target release 1.7** — Splash, Aug 04 '20 at 10:09
I do not agree with the duplicate mark. That one is only focused on Intellij, but doesn't tell us any reason. — Safron, Oct 05 '22 at 13:28

score -2 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 14 '16 at 02:22

-2

if you compiler code use java 1.7,the code can not run with java 1.6,if you do this,you will receive a Unsupported major.minor version.

answered Oct 14 '16 at 02:22

Pan

Err, yes it can, if it compiles and you use the -target 1.6 switch, which is what the question is about. – user207421 Oct 14 '16 at 06:11
1

I've just tried for modern source level 1.8 with bytecode target version 1.7 but it failed: **[javac] javac: source release 1.8 requires target release 1.8** – Splash Aug 04 '20 at 10:06
@Splash Any idea why that happens? I thought that it should be possible to set the target lower than the source level, but apparently that's not the case. Can't find any good reference. – Safron Oct 05 '22 at 13:29
Maybe they are too lazy to implement all new features of Java 8 using old 7 version internal mechanic. – Splash Mar 06 '23 at 15:38

1 Answers1