Mobile Application

Development with
Android
Unit 1 – Introduction to Android
Part 5

Likhitha M M
Assistant Professor
DoS in Computer Science
Mahajana PG Wing,
Mysore
 Contents

Configuring Your
Development
Environment
Configuring Your

Setting Up Your Operating System for

Device Debugging
Configuring Your
Android Android Hardware for
Debugging

Development Upgrading the Android

SDK
Problems with the
Environment Android Software
Development Kit
 Setting Up Your Android
Development Environment
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Android developers write and test applications on their
computers and then deploy those applications onto the actual
device hardware for further testing. In this chapter, you
become familiar with all the tools you need master in order to
develop Android applications. You also explore the Android
Software Development Kit (SDK) installation and all it has to
offer.
 Configuring Your Development
Environment
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To write Android applications, you must configure your
programming environment for Java development. The software
is available online for download at no cost. Android
applications can be developed on Windows, Macintosh, or
Linux systems
To develop Android applications, you need to have the following software
installed on your computer:
The Java Development Kit (JDK) available for download at
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp.
A compatible Java IDE such as Eclipse along with its JDT plug-in,
available for download at http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/.
The Android SDK, tools and documentation, available for download at
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.
The Android Development Tools (ADT) plug-in for Eclipse, available for
download through the Eclipse software update mechanism. For
instructions on how to install this plug-in, see
http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html. Although this tool is
optional for development, it’s highly recommended.
Tip
Most developers use the popular Eclipse Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) for Android development.
The Android development team has integrated the Android
development tools directly into the Eclipse IDE. However,
developers are not constrained to using Eclipse; they can also
use other IDEs. For information on using other development
environments, begin by reading
http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/other-ide.html.
 Configuring Your Operating
System for Device Debugging
To install and debug Android applications on Android devices,
you need to configure your operating system to access the
phone via the USB cable. On some operating systems, such as
Mac OS, this may just work. However, for Windows
installations, you need to install the appropriate USB driver.
You can download the Windows USB driver from the
following website:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html.
Android application debugging using the emulator and an
Android handset.
 Configuring Your Android
Hardware for Debugging
Android devices have debugging disabled by default. Your
Android device must be enabled for debugging via a USB
connection in order to develop applications and run them on
the device. First, you need to enable your device to install
Android applications other than those from the Android
Market. This setting is reached by selecting Home, Menu,
Settings, Applications. Here you should check (enable) the
option called Unknown Sources.
Android debug settings
More important development settings are available on the Android
device by selecting Home, Menu, Settings, Applications,
Development. Here you should enable the following options:
USB Debugging: This setting enables you to debug your applications
via the USB connection. Configuring Your Development Environment 31
Figure 2.2 Android debug settings.
Stay Awake: This convenient setting keeps the phone from sleeping in
the middle of your development work, as long as the device is plugged
in.
Allow Mock Locations: This setting enables you to send mock location
information to the phone for development purposes and is very
convenient for applications using location-based services (LBS).
 Android debug settings
The Android SDK is upgraded from time to time. You can
easily upgrade the Android SDK and tools from within Eclipse
using the Android SDK and AVD Manager, which is installed
as part of the ADT plug-in for Eclipse.
Changes to the Android SDK might include addition, update,
and removal of features; package name changes; and updated
tools. With each new version of the SDK, Google provides the
following useful documents:
An Overview of Changes: A brief description of major changes to
the SDK.
An API Diff Report: A complete list of specific changes to the SDK.
Release Notes: A list of known issues with the SDK
 Problems with the Android
Software Development Kit
Because the Android SDK is constantly under active development,
you might come across problems with the SDK. If you think
you’ve found a problem, you can find a list of open issues and
their status at the Android project Issue Tracker website. You can
also submit new issues for review. The Issue Tracker website for
the Android open source project is http://code.google.
com/p/android/issues/list. For more information about logging
your own bugs or defects to be considered by the Android
platform development team, check out the following website:
http://source.android.com/source/report-bugs.html
Thankyou

Likhitha M M
Assistant Professor
DoS in Computer
Science
Mahajana PG Wing,
Mysore