Sharing

Android Development

How to start experimenting with Android development [Sharing]

 

Smart phones and tablets are all over the place nowadays. With the sudden spike of relatively cheap electronic devices and potential, naturally the app market will also gain momentum alongside with the hardware. It (the devices) has somewhat integrated to our daily tasks because of it’s simplicity and convenience. The purpose of this post is to introduce a little bit regarding the beginning steps to creating your first android project. Later on, perhaps it can be a hobby if you fancy programming and design or even motivate yourself to develop a useful app in the future, hopefully, earning profit along the way ;) . Do not worry about resources and help, as many can be discovered from the web. Following are the steps …STEP 1: Requirements check: The first step is to make sure your computer can handle the software. You can check it here. Also, it is useful if you have basics in Java. If not, it is still fine as there are tonnes of tutorials out there.

STEP 2: To get a development platform: Eclipse will be suitable and enough to use. Download eclipse “classic” version.

From the image above (SDK manager) you can download different versions of API, 4.0.3 is the latest Ice-cream Sandwich, 3.x is HoneyComb.

STEP 3: Download Android SDK (Software Development Kit): This is where the android API (Application Programmers’ Interface) comes in play. This kit contains all the necessary library, samples and resources for creating your very own android app. Google has made it very convenient of everyone to contribute. Pretty useful for any kind of development if you ask me :) . Get the starter android SDK here.

STEP 4: ADT (Android Dev Tool) plugin for Eclipse: Android provides this plug-in specially for Eclipse. In short, it’s used for integrating your SDKs to Eclipse to enable a powerful environment for building android apps. Kind of like a special add-on specifically for enhancing android development.

  1. start by “installing new software” in Eclipse
    help > install new software
  2. Click add at the right top corner, then type in the ADT repository URL as shown, finally click OK.
    Name: ADT Plugin URL: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
  3. In the Available Software dialog, select the checkbox next to Developer Tools and click Next.
  4. In the next window, you’ll see a list of the tools to be downloaded. Click Next.
  5. Read and accept the license agreements, then click Finish. **Note: If you get a security warning saying that the authenticity or validity of the software can’t be established, click OK.
  6. When done, restart Eclipse.

FINAL STEP: Adding Platforms and other packages. Use the android SDK manager to obtain the essential packages for your development environment. Personally I include these options:

  • SDK tools and SDK platform tools (A must)
  • Android platforms, denoted by increasing number (e.g. API 15 is for 4.0.3 IceCream Sandwich). These contain the Android library, system image, sample code, and emulator skins. Choose the android platform according to which device you plan to work on.
  • USB driver for Windows, this is useful for USB debugging and running on actual device.
  • Samples. Android is armed with many sample apps which can be used as a starting point for your project.

So that’s about it. These steps are meant to start-up a computer for android development. Beyond this point you may find more advanced development findings as you learn. A good way to start from here is watch video tutorials. Lab-mates can approach S.E. Tan for a compilation of beginner tutorials.

Good luck! :D

Leave a comment