Installing The Android Development Kit: 4 Installation and Configuration of Your Development Platform
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xm3powerInstalling The Android Development Kit: 4 Installation and Configuration of Your Development Platform
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Chapter 1 n Installation and Configuration of Your Development Platform
You should note that Eclipse does not install like most Windows software installs. It
comes as a ZIP file that can be placed anywhere on the system and unzipped. I recommend that you create a folder in the Program Files folder on a Windows system
called Eclipse or something equally appropriate and unzip the ZIP file there. You
might also want to create a shortcut for the Eclipse start icon and place it on your
desktop.
When you select the New menu and choose Project, if you can start Eclipse and you
see Java Project as a choice, so far so good. If that doesnt happen for you, go back
and check the documentation for the Eclipse and Java installations. Above all, be
patient.
Installing the Android Development Kit
Finally, you can begin to install the Android Development Kit (ADK). There are
actually two steps to getting Android configured. First, you need the kit; then you
need to configure Eclipse. You can download the ADK at http://developer.android.
com/sdk. Once you have it installed, you need to make a change to your PATH environment variable similar to what you did earlier. You will follow the same steps and
add something like the following to the path: c:\program files (x86)\android\
android-sdk\tools\. Dont forget to separate entries with a semicolon.
To configure the Eclipse plug-in for Android, start Eclipse and select Install New
Software from the Help menu. You will see the screen shown in Figure 1.4.
In the Work With field, enter the following website: http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/
eclipse/. After clicking Add and waiting a moment, a Developer Tools line appears
below. Put a check in the box that appears in the screen below, click Next, and follow
the prompts to the end of the process. You need to agree to all the licenses to get to
the Finish button.
Caution
You must be running Eclipse as an administrator to install plug-ins. For a typical configuration, the steps
in the previous paragraph will fail unless you right-click Eclipse and choose Run as Administrator.
Otherwise, you get an unhelpful error about Missing requirement: Shared Plugin.
Testing the Android installation is similar to testing the Java installation. Again,
select the File menu on Eclipse, select New, Project, and you should see Android
Project as a choice. If it is there, you should be good to go. If not, check your steps
and look for some online troubleshooting help. There is no lack of documentation on
the Internet for Eclipse, Java, and Android. Just use your favorite search engine.
Installing the Android Development Kit
Figure 1.4
Eclipse Install New Software panel.
Indeed, if you ever run into a problem with part of a project you see in this tutorial
or attempt on your own, you can rest assured many other developers have run into
the same problem and are more than likely to have posted solutions on the Internet.
The following list contains some websites I have found useful:
http://download.oracle.com/javase
Documentation on J2SE
http://developer.android.com
Documentation on the ADK
www.dreamincode.net
General programming help for many
development languages
www.stackoverflow.com
Solutions to many common programming
problems offered by other developers.
Chapter 1 n Installation and Configuration of Your Development Platform
Follow-Up
1. Install and configure the components needed to build your Android application
development environment.
2. Review the websites listed at the end of this chapter.
3. Research the sequence of Android OS versions and their added features to help
you target the appropriate levels in your applications.
Readers Notes
Chapter 2
Starting an Android
Application Project
Android Applications Components
Lets assume at this point that you have correctly configured Eclipse with Java and
the Android Development Kit (ADK). Its time to write the first application. If you
have used Eclipse before, you know how to start a project. If not, heres what you
need to know about projects. Eclipse creates a directory, or folder, to store your programming projects called Workspace. When Eclipse is installed, the installer is
prompted for the desired location for this directory. After installation, Eclipse allows
for the creation of new Workspace directories and allows you to change Workspace
directories each time you open Eclipse.
Any time you start a new project, Eclipse prompts for a project name and creates a
subdirectory (subfolder) in the Workspace directory for the project using the chosen
project name for the subdirectory name. From here on, the terms directory and
folder, and the terms subdirectory and subfolder, may be used interchangeably.
Inside the project directory, Eclipse creates several subdirectories for specific purposes; those will be discussed in detail later in the chapter. Although Eclipse organizes these subdirectories on its own and the project file and directory structure
doesnt determine the functionality of the final application, you should preserve the
file and directory structure because Eclipse uses file paths in the assembly of the projects components. This will be explained and illustrated more clearly later in the
chapter as well.
Chapter 2 n Starting an Android Application Project
On the Eclipse desktop, select File, New, Project. You are presented with a new dialog
box. Select Android Project under the Android heading, and then select Next. You
will see the dialog box in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1
Eclipse New Android Project panel.
Choose a project name, such as Project_1. Notice the check box labeled Use
Default Location. It is checked and contains a path with workspace as the final
directory in the path. This is what I referred to earlier; you can leave it as is. Next,
the Build Target area refers to the version of the Android operating system (OS) you
