Start Andriod Programming

 Start Android Programming

Eclipse

The first step towards developing any applications is obtaining the integrated development environment (IDE). In the case of Android, the recommended IDE is Eclipse, a multi-language software development environment featuring an extensible plug-in system. It can be used to develop various types of applications, using languages such as Java, Ada, C, C++, COBOL, Python, etc.

For Android development, you should download the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers (www.eclipse .org/downloads/packages/eclipse-ide-java-eedevelopers/heliossr1). Six editions are available: Windows (32 and 64-bit), Mac OS X (Cocoa 32 and 64), and Linux (32 and 64-bit). Simply select the relevant one for your operating system. All the examples in this book were tested using the 32-bit version of Eclipse for Windows.

Once the Eclipse IDE is downloaded, unzip its content (the eclipse folder) into a folder, say C:\Android\. Figure 1-7 shows the content of the eclipse folder.

Android SDK

The next important piece of software you need to download Android SDK.
The Android SDK contains a debugger, libraries, an emulator, documentation, sample code, and tutorials.

You can download the Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.

Once the SDK is downloaded, unzip its content (the android-sdk-windows folder) into the C:\Android\ folder, or whatever name you have given to the folder you just created.

Android Development Tools (ADT )

The Android Development Tools (ADT) plug-in for Eclipse is an extension to the Eclipse IDE that supports the creation and debugging of Android applications. Using the ADT, you will be able to do the following in Eclipse:

➤➤ Create new Android application projects.
➤➤ Access the tools for accessing your Android emulators and devices.
➤➤ Compile and debug Android applications.
➤➤ Export Android applications into Android Packages (APK).
➤➤ Create digital certificates for code-signing your APK.

To install the ADT, first launch Eclipse by double-clicking on the eclipse.exe file located in the eclipse folder.

When Eclipse is first started, you will be prompted for a folder to use as your workspace. In Eclipse, a workspace is a folder where you store all your projects. Take the default suggested and click OK.

Once Eclipse is up and running, select the Help ➪ Install New Software… menu item (see
Figure ).

In the Install window that appears, type http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse in the text box (see Figure) and click Add..

After a while, you will see the Developer Tools item appear in the middle of the window (see Figure ).

Expand it, and it will reveal its content: Android DDMS, Android Development Tools, and Android Hierarchy Viewer. Check all of them and click Next.

When you see the installation details, as shown in Figure

, click Next.

You will be asked to review the licenses for the tools. Check the option to accept the license agreements  see Figure.

Click Finish to continue.

Eclipse will now proceed to download the tools from the Internet and install them ,
see Figure .

This will take some time, so be patient.

Once the ADT is installed, you will be prompted to restart Eclipse. After doing so, go to Window -> Preferences see Figure.

In the Preferences window that appears, select Android. You will see an error message saying that the SDK has not been set up  see Figure. 

Click OK to dismiss it.

Enter the location of the Android SDK folder. In this example, it would be C:\Android\
android-sdk-windows. Click OK.

The End Of This Lesson