Specific tools for Android : Android SDK
We have just installed the JDK. So now you have the tools to develop a Java program. That said, an Android application is a particular Java program. You have the basic tools but not the specific tools to Android.
The tool you are missing is the SDKAndroid. It contains what you need, not to develop a standard Java program, but to develop an Android application.
Download the Android SDK and decompression
To download the Android SDK, go here
and choose the file depending on your system.
As you can see, this file is compressed (zip for Windows and Mac or tgz for GNU / Linux). Unzip it where you want on your hard drive.
Remember exactly where you put the decompressed content. His path will be needed for the future. I recommend a safe place that will not move.
Personally, I put the contents of the zip in : C:\Android\android-sdk-windows
Add the SDK to PATH
Frequently asked question :
- Ok I do not mind ... but what's the point?
No worries, before the manipulation, let me explain what it is.
What is the PATH?
When Windows (and this is the same principle on Mac or GNU / Linux) executes a command, it will search for it in specific directories...if it is not found in these directories, it considers that it does not know it and returns an error.
These specific directories are defined in what is called an environment variable
: a variable (which, by definition, contains a value) accessible by Windows, everywhere, all the time.
The environment variable in question is PATH
. To see its value, type the following in the command prompt in Windows:
You get a series of directories separated by ";".
It is in each of these directories that Windows searches for commands that you ask.
For example, the java command that we used earlier, is located in the C:\Windows\System32. Well I'm sure that this directory is in your PATH.
So now, we'll need that Windows knows where the new commands of the Android SDK are.
To add it to your path, execute this command :
set PATH=%PATH%;"path to android sdk"
So in my case I should execute
One last step is required to install the Android SDK. Do not worry, this is the easiest.
Installing Android platforms
The last step is to install at least one version of Android platform. According to the version of Android, APIs differ a little. At the time of this writing, the latest version of Android is version 4.4.2 (KitKat).
In the SDK directory, an executable is present: SDK Manager.exe. It's a small interface to manage versions of Android.
Run it to start the installation.
Among the available packages, choose the one you want:
Personally, I took everything! To be sure not to return.
On Mac and GNU/Linux, run from a terminal the "android" command in the directory / tools /.
The installation will take a few minutes (to me it was quite long since I took everything ...).
Once installation is complete, we can move to: Installing Eclipse.