Getting started with Android development

You can develop Android application programs (apps) on any PC that run a Linux, Macintosh OS X, or Microsoft Windows operating system (OS). Google provides an open-source Android software development kit (SDK) that includes an Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) and a bundle of Android Development Tools (ADT). This document can help you download the Android SDK, set up the ADT bundle, and then create and run your first app.

Downloading the Android SDK
To download the Android SDK, do the following:

1. If you do not already have a Google account, open one. 
2. Go to developers.google.com/android/, and then click "Get the Android SDK," in the left column. 
3. Click "Download the SDK ADT Bundle for (your OS)." 
4. Agree with the terms and conditions, select either 32- or 64-bit, and then click "Download the SDK ADT Bundle for (your OS)." 
5. After the download completes, go to the Setting Up the ADT Bundle section below. 

Setting Up the ADT Bundle
To set up the ADT bundle for your OS, do the following:

1. Download the Android SDK bundle according to the Downloading the Android SDK section above. 
2. At the left, click "Setting Up the ADT Bundle" to display its page. 
3. Create a new "Android_Development" folder in your home folder. 
4. Unpack (unzip) your downloaded adt-bundle-(your_OS) ZIP file, and then copy its adt-bundle- (your_OS) folder into your Android_Development folder. 
5. In your adt-bundle-(your_OS) folder, open the eclipse folder, right-click the "eclipse" executable file to display its menu, create a Link-to-eclipse shortcut (for example, in Linux, click "Make Link"), and then move that shortcut to your desktop. 
6. Go to the Creating Your First Android App section below.

Creating Your First Android App
To create your first Android app, do the following:

1. Set up the ADT bundle for Linux according to the Setting Up the ADT Bundle section above. 
2. Go to developers.google.com/android/, click "developer.android.com," in the center column, click "Training" at the top of the page, click "Building Your First App" to display its submenu, and then click "Creating an Android Project." 
3. On your OS toolbar, click "File," click "Print" to display its page, and then click "Print" to print the three-sheet Creating an Android Project lesson. Note: For a tree-saving alternative, you can view the lesson instructions on a separate PC. 
4. On your desktop, double-click your "Link to eclipse" shortcut to display the Workspace Launcher window. 
5. Click "OK" to display the Android IDE Welcome window. 
6. Click "New Android Application," and then follow the instructions in the Create-a-Project-with-Eclipse section of the Creating-an-Android-Project lesson. 
7. Click "next lesson" and then go to the Running Your First Android App section below.

Running Your First Android App
To run your first Android app, do the following:

1. Create your first Android app in Linux according to the Creating Your First Android App section above. 
2. Go to developers.google.com/android/, click "developer.android.com," in the center column, click "Training" at the top of the page, click "Building Your First App" to display its submenu, and then click "Running Your App." 
3. Print the three-sheet Running Your App lesson, and then follow its instructions to run your app either on a real Android device (phone or tablet) or on an Android Virtual Device (AVD), which is an emulator.

Note: Running an app on an Android phone or tablet is relatively simple. In contrast, depending on your specific PC hardware and software configuration, you might have trouble running your app on the AVD. For example, the AVD might not launch, as reported in Waiting for home. Android process Acore to be launched.