Mobile Programming

In market figures released in 2013, almost 70% of smartphones and 42% of tablets are
Android based. This figure is expected to continually rise in the upcoming years. With this in
mind, the android is the ideal programming language to be taught to students for this course. In
this module, we will be discussing how to install and setup the necessary software needed for the
Android

Objectives:

At the end of the session, the students should:

1. Be knowledgeable in installing the Eclipse IDE;

2. Successfully set-up the SDK and ADT Plugin;

3. Establish what Android Version to use when running applications; and

4. Gain familiarity with the terms relevant to the topic;

SETTING UP THE ANDROID 1

ENVIRONMENT
A. Installing the Eclipse IDE
The Eclipse Consortium is responsible for
developing the Eclipse IDE workbench. But how did it start
and why was it started? Eclipse got its start in 2001 when
IBM donated 3 million lines of code from its Java tools. Its
original goal was to create and foster an open source IDE
community that would complement the community that
surrounds Apache. Its secondary goal was to eclipse
Microsoft Visual Studio (the dominant IDE platform at the
time) which is how it got its name.

Eclipse is a Java-based open source platform that

allows a software developer to create a customized
integrated development environment (IDE) from plug-in
components. In the enterprise, a major advantage to an
open source development platform is that it allows an IT
department to mix and match development tools rather than
being committed to a single vendor's suite of development
products. Although the Eclipse Platform is written in Java,
it supports plug-ins that allows developers to develop and
test code written in other languages.

To that end, Eclipse is divided in to three projects

namely:

1. The Eclipse Project

2. The Eclipse Tools Project
3. The Eclipse Technology Project

The Eclipse Project is responsible for developing

the Eclipse IDE workbench, the Java Development Tools
(also known as JDT), and the Plug-In Development
 Environment (also known as PDE) which is used to extend
the platform. Meanwhile the Eclipse Tools Project is
focused on creating best-of-breed tools for the Eclipse
platform. On the other hand, the Eclipse Technology
Project is focused on technology research, education and
incubation using the Eclipse Platform.

In installing the Eclipse IDE, the first thing that you

need to do is to check your updated Java runtime. If you're
not sure where to find an appropriate Java VM (Virtual
Machine) for your platform, you can visit
http://www.eclipse.org and find more information at the
website. Once your Java VM is updated visit the eclipse
download page and download the latest version. All
versions are in .zip file format. Unzip the archive into an
appropriate directory and then read through any files that
may be present in the readme directory.

If you've installed your Java VM properly and

unpacked the Eclipse archive correctly, you should be
ready to run Eclipse for the first time. All binary
distributions provide a launch application in the primary
eclipse directory. The first time the Eclipse application is
run, it will complete a few remaining install tasks (i.e.,
creation of a workspace directory for storing project files)
before the environment comes up.

B. Setting up the Android SDK Starter Package

The Android SDK (also known as Starter

Development Kit) is your gateway to using the Android
mobile operating system as an open source platform. The
 Android SDK is not a full development environment—it
includes only the core SDK Tools, which you can use to
download the rest of the SDK components (such as the
latest Android platform).
The first thing that you need to do before setting up
the SDK is to check if your computer meets the necessary
minimum requirements in running the starter package.
Your next step is to visit the Android SDK download page
(http://www.developer.android.com/sdk/installing/index.ht
ml) and click the download link next to the operating
system you are currently using. There are currently
versions of the Android SDK for Windows, Mac OS X, and
Linux. This will download the SDK starter package. The
starter package contains the core SDK tools and allows you
to download other SDK components as well as the latest
version of the Android operating system. Lastly, make a
note of the name and location of the SDK directory on your
system—you will need to refer to the SDK directory later,
when setting up the ADT plugin and when using the SDK
tools from the command line.

C. The ADT (Android Development Tools) Plugin

Android offers a custom plugin for the Eclipse IDE,

and it is called the ADT (also known as Android
Development Tools) which is designed to give you a
powerful, integrated environment where you can build
Android applications. It extends the capabilities of the
Eclipse platform to let you quickly set-up new Android
projects, create your own mobile application user interface,
debug your applications using the Android SDK tools, and
even export APKs in order to distribute your application. In
 general, developing in Eclipse with ADT is a highly
recommended approach and is the fastest way to get started
with Android.

D. Android Architecture
In setting up the Android Virtual Device (AVD)
and the recommended version that you will use in creating
your own android based mobile applications, you must first
finish downloading and installing the Android SDK. The
AVD Manager is a tool included in the SDK starter
package used to download essential SDK components into
your development environment.
If you used the Windows installer, when you’ve
completed the installation wizard, it will launch the
Android SDK and AVD Manager with a default set of
platforms and other components selected for you to install.
Simply click install to accept the recommended set of
components and install them.
(Note: Please check the Module 3 video tutorial for
the process of installing the AVD and which android
version to use in creating your mobile applications.)

Reference:

Rahman K. (2013). Android Development Tools for

Eclipse. (1st ed.) Packt Publishing

Hodson R. (2014). Android Programming

Succinctly (1st ed.) www.syncfusion.com

http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2002/12/11/ec
lipse.html

http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/Eclipse
 http://www.wikihow.com/Download-the-Android-
SDK.htm