ActionBarSherlock is a deprecated Java library for Android app development, created by Jake Wharton. It is no longer maintained and no further development will take place. The README directs anyone still looking for this kind of tool to use AppCompat instead, which is Google's official supported replacement. When this library was active, it solved a specific problem from the early days of Android development. Android version 4.0 introduced a built-in navigation bar at the top of apps called the Action Bar, which let users access menus, titles, and navigation buttons in a consistent way. Older Android versions did not have this feature. ActionBarSherlock let developers write their app once using a single consistent programming interface, and the library would automatically use the built-in Action Bar on devices running Android 4.0 and above, while providing its own matching implementation for older devices running Android 2.x. This solved a real headache for developers in 2012 who wanted their apps to look consistent across a wide range of Android devices, many of which were still running older software versions. The library became widely adopted before Google released its own official backport solution. The library is licensed under the Apache License 2.0, which is a permissive open-source license that allows use in both personal and commercial projects. Since it is deprecated and no longer updated, it is not appropriate for use in new Android projects. The README explicitly points to AppCompat as the current solution for anyone who needs the same capability.
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