Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
WhenaJDKisalreadyinstalledonyourdevelopmentplatform,takeamoment
toensurethatitmeetsthepreviouslylistedversionrequirement(5,6,or7).SomeLinux
distributions may include JDK 1.4, which isn't supported for Android development.
Also, Gnu Compiler for Java isn't supported.
Installing the Android SDK
Point your browser to
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
anddownloadthecurrentreleaseoftheAndroidSDKforyourplatform.Forexample,
you would download one of
android-sdk_r12-windows.zip
(Windows),
android-sdk_r12-mac_x86.zip
(Mac OS X [Intel]), and
android-
sdk_r12-linux_x86.tgz
(Linux[i386])toinstallAndroidSDKRelease12.(Ifo-
cus on Release 12 in this chapter because it's current at time of writing; a new release
may be available by the time this topic is published.)
Note
Windows developers have the option of downloading and running
in-
staller_r12-windows.exe
. Google recommends that you use this tool, which
automates most of the installation process.
For example, if you run Windows, download
android-
sdk_r12-windows.zip
. After unarchiving this file, move the unarchived
android-sdk-windows
homedirectorytoaconvenientlocationinyourfilesystem;
for example, you might move the unarchived
C:\unzipped\android-
sdk_r12-windows\android-sdk-windows
home directory to the root direct-
ory on your C: drive, resulting in
C:\android-sdk-windows
.
Note
Tocompleteinstallation,addthe
tools
subdirectorytoyour
PATH
environ-
mentvariablesothatyoucanaccesstheSDK'scommand-linetoolsfromanywherein
your filesystem.
Asubsequentexaminationof
android-sdk-windows
showsthatthishomedir-
ectory contains the following subdirectories and files:
•
add-ons
:Thisinitiallyemptydirectorystoresadd-onsfromGoogleandother
vendors; for example, the Google APIs add-on is stored here.
•
platforms
: This initially empty directory stores Android platforms in sep-
aratesubdirectories.Forexample,Android2.3wouldbestoredinone
plat-
forms
subdirectory,whereas Android2.2wouldbestoredinanother
plat-
forms
subdirectory.
