Starting a New Project in Eclipse

You need to start Eclipse. After it’s started, you should see something that looks similar to Figure. Now you’re ready to start a new project in Eclipse with Android.

Starting a New Project in Eclipse

1. In Eclipse, choose File➪New➪Project.
The New Project/Select a Wizard dialog box opens, as shown in Figure.

Starting a New Project in Eclipse

2. From the New Project/Select a Wizard dialog box, expand the Android item by clicking the Android folder.

3. After the Android folder is expanded, click Android Project and then click the Next button.

4. In the Project Name field, type Hello Android.

5. In the Contents panel, leave the default radio button Create New Project in Workspace and the check box Use Default Location selected.

Starting a New Project in Eclipse

6. In the Build Target section, select Android 2.2.

Starting a New Project in Eclipse

7. In the Properties section, type Hello Android in the Application Name box.

8. In the Package Name box, type com.android.helloandroid. This is the name of the Java package.

9. In the Create Activity box, type MainActivity.

10. In the Min SDK Version box, type 8.

11. Click the Finish button.

You’re done! You should see Eclipse with a single project in the Package Explorer, as shown in Figure.

Starting a New Project in Eclipse

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Get physical with a real Android device

The emulator is awesome, but sometimes you need an actual device to test on. The DDMS allows you to debug your app on an actual device, which comes in handy for developing apps that use hardware features that aren’t or can’t be emulated. Suppose that you’re developing an app that tracks the user’s location. You can send coordinates to the device manually, but at some point in your development, you probably want to test the app and find out whether it in fact displays the correct location. Using an actual device is the only way to do this.

 If you develop on a Windows machine and want to test your app on a real device, you need to install a driver. If you’re on a Mac or Linux machine, you can skip this section, because you don’t need to install the USB driver.

To download the Windows USB driver for Android devices, follow these steps:

1. In Eclipse, choose Window➪Android SDK and AVD Manager. The Android SDK and AVD Manager dialog box opens (see Figure).

2. In the left pane, select Available Packages.

3. Expand the Android repository, and select the USB Driver package.

physical with a real Android device

4. Click the Install Selected button. The Choose Packages to Install dialog box opens.

5. Select the Accept radio button to accept the license and then click the Install button (see Figure).The Installing Archives dialog box opens, displaying a progress bar.

physical with a real Android device

6. When the package finishes downloading and installing, click the Close button.

7. Exit the Android SDK and AVD Manager dialog box.
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Configuring Eclipse - Setting up Eclipse with the ADT

 To set up Eclipse with the ADT, follow these steps:

1. Start Eclipse, if it’s not already running.

2. Choose Help➪Install New Software. The Install window pops up (see Figure). This window allows you to install new plug-ins in Eclipse.

3. Click the Add button to add a new site that will display the Add Repository window (see Figure). Sites are the Web addresses where the software is hosted on the Internet. Adding a site to Eclipse makes it easier for you to update the software when a new version is released.

Setting up Eclipse

4. Type a name in the Name field. I recommend using Android ADT, but it can be anything you choose.

5. Type https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ in the Location field.

Setting up Eclipse

6. Click the OK button. Android ADT is selected in the Work With drop-down menu, and the available options are displayed in the Name and Version window of the Install Details dialog box.

7. In the Install dialog box, select the check box next to Developer Tools, and click the Next button (see Figure).

Setting up Eclipse

 

 The Install Details dialog box should list both the Android Dalvik Debug Monitor Server and the ADT (see Figure).

Setting up Eclipse

8. Click the Next button to review the software licenses.

9. Click the Finish button.

10. When you’re prompted to do so, click the Restart Now button to restart Eclipse.

The ADT plug-in is installed.

Setting the location of the SDK :

In this section, I guide you through the configuration process. I know that this seems like a lot to do, but you’re almost done, and you have to do this work only once. Follow these steps:

1. Choose Window➪Preferences. The Preferences dialog box opens (see Figure).

2. Select Android in the left pane.

3. Set the SDK Location to C:\android\android-sdk-windows.

4. Click OK.

Setting up Eclipse

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Getting the Eclipse And Installing Eclipse

Now that you have the SDK, you need an integrated development environment (IDE) to use it. It’s time to download Eclipse...!!!

Choosing the right Eclipse version :

Downloading the correct version of Eclipse is very important. Check the Android System Requirements page at http://developer.android.com/sdk/requirements.html.

If you’re still unsure, download Eclipse Juno (version 4.2). When you download the file, you’ll probably need to find the Older Versions link on the download page and select the latest indigo version.

To download the correct version, navigate to the Eclipse downloads page (www.eclipse.org/downloads); select the Older Versions link; and then select Eclipse IDE for Java Developers. Eclipse IDE for JAVA EE Developers works as well.

Installing Eclipse :

Eclipse is a self-contained executable file; after you unzip it, the program is installed. Even though you could stop here, it’s best to pin a shortcut to your Start menu so that Eclipse is easy to find when you need it.

To install Eclipse, you need to extract the contents of the Eclipse .zip file to the location of your choice. For this example, I’ll be using C:\ProgramFiles\Eclipse.

To install Eclipse, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the shortcut that you just created to run Eclipse. If you’re running a recent version of Windows, the first time you run Eclipse, a Security Warning dialog box may appear, as shown in Figure. This dialog box tells you that the publisher has not been verified and asks whether you still want to run the software. Clear the Always Ask Before Opening This File check box, and click the Run button

Installing Eclipse

2. Set your workspace.

When Eclipse starts, the first thing you see is the Workspace Launcher dialog box, as shown in Figure 2-17. Here, you can modify your workspace if you want, but for this blog, I’m sticking with the default:
"c:\users\<username>\workspace" Leave the Use This as the Default and Do Not Ask Again check box deselected,and click the OK button.

Installing Eclipse

If you plan to develop multiple applications, I recommend using a separate workspace for each project. If you store multiple projects in one workspace, it gets difficult to keep things organized, and it’s easy to change a similarly named file in a different project. Keeping projects in their own workspaces makes it easier to find the project when you have to go back to it to fix bugs.

When Eclipse finishes loading, you see the Eclipse welcome screen, shown in Figure.

Installing Eclipse

3. Click the curved-arrow icon on the right side of the screen to go to the workbench.

Eclipse is installed and easily accessible. I show you how to add the Android Development Tools in the next Post. Follow @amardeepvijay

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Following and setting your tools path

This step is optional, but I highly recommend setting the tools path because it saves you from having to remember and type the full path when you’re accessing the Android Debug Bridge (adb) via the command line. The adb lets you manage the state of an emulator or Android device so that you can debug your application or interact with the device at a high level. The adb tool is very in-depth, so I don’t go into a lot of detail about it here.

To add the Android tools to your system-path variable, follow these steps:

1. Open Control Panel, and double-click the System icon to open System Preferences.

2. Click the Advanced System Settings link (see Figure) to open the System Properties window.

3. Click the Environment Variables button (see Figure) to bring up the Environment Variables dialog box.

4. Click the New button (see Figure).

5. In the Variable Name field, type ANDROID.

6. Type the full path to the tools directory (c:\android\android-sdkwindows\tools) in the Variable Value field (see Figure).

7. Click OK.

8. In the System Variables window of the resulting dialog box (see Figure), select the PATH variable.


9. Click Edit and then type the following text at the end of the Variable Value field:
 ;%ANDROID%

That’s it; you’re done. Now any time you access the Android tools directory,
just use your newly created system variable.

In most operating systems, your system PATH variable won’t be updated until you log out of and log back on to your operating system. If you find that your PATH variable values aren’t present, try logging out of and logging back on to your computer. Follow @amardeepvijay

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Acquiring the Android SDK

Android SDK is composed of a debugger, Android libraries, a device emulator, documentation, sample code, and tutorials. You can’t develop Android apps without it.

Downloading the Android SDK :
To download the Android SDK, follow these steps:

1. Point your browser to http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.

2. Choose the latest version of the SDK starter package for your platform.

3. Extract the SDK.

I recommend extracting to c:\android because I reference this location later in this Blog. You’ve just downloaded the Android SDK.

4. Navigate to the directory where you extracted the SDK, and doubleclick SDK Setup, as shown in Figure:

Android SDK

5. If you’re prompted to accept the authenticity of the file, click Yes. The Android SDK and AVD Manager dialog box opens.

6. Select the SDK Platform Android 2.2 check box. For the purposes of this book, select version 2.2, as shown in Figure.

Android SDK

Every time a new version of the Android OS is released, Google also releases an SDK that contains access to the added functionality in that version. If you want to include Bluetooth functionality in your app, for

example, make sure that you have Android SDK version 2.0 or later, because this functionality isn’t available in earlier versions.

7. Click Install Selected. The Choose Packages to Install dialog box opens.

8. Select the Accept radio button to accept the license and then click Install (see Figure).

Android SDK

9. In the next dialog box, select Accept and click Install.The Installing Archives dialog box opens, displaying a progress bar (see Figure).

Android SDK

10. When the archives installation is complete, click the Close button. While the Android SDK is attempting to connect to the servers to obtain the files, you may occasionally receive a Failure to fetch URL error.

If this happens to you, navigate to Settings, select Force https://... Sources to be Fetched Using http://, and then attempt to download the available packages again. Follow @amardeepvijay

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Getting the Java Development Kit (Java SDK)

Installing the JDK can be a somewhat daunting task, but I guide you through it one Downloading the JDK :

Follow these steps to install the JDK:
1. Point your browser to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp. The Java SE downloads page appears.

Installing the JDK

2. Click the JDK link under the Java Platform (JDK) heading (see in Figure). This link is on the http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp page at this writing.

The Web page shown in Figure may look different in the future. To ensure that you’re visiting the correct page.


If you’re on a Mac, install the JDK through Software Update panel.

A new Java SE downloads page appears, asking you to specify which platform (Windows, Linux, or Mac) you’ll be using for your development work.

3. Using the Platform drop-down list, confirm your platform, and then click the Download button. An optional Log in for Download screen appears.

4. Click the Skip This Step link at the bottom of the page.

5. Click JDK-6u20-windows-i586.exe to download the file.Windows opens a message box with a security warning, as shown in Figure.

6. In the Save As dialog box, select the location where you want to save the file, and click Save.

You must remember what version of the Java SDK you need to install. At this writing, Android 2.2 supports Java SDK versions 5 and 6. If you install the wrong version of Java, you’ll get unexpected results during development.

Installing the JDK

Installing the JDK :
When the download is complete, double-click the file to install the JDK. You are prompted by a dialog box that asks whether you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Click the Yes button. If you click the No button, the installation is stopped. When you’re prompted to do so, read and accept the license agreement. That’s all there is to it! You have the JDK installed and are ready to move to the next phase. Follow @amardeepvijay

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Installing and Configuring Your Support Tools

Now it’s starting to get exciting. It’s time to get this Android going, but before you can do so, you need to install and configure a few tools, including SDKs:

1. Java JDK: Lays the foundation for the Android SDK.

 2. Android SDK: Provides access to Android libraries and allows you to develop for Android.

 3. Eclipse IDE (integrated development environment): Brings together Java, the Android SDK, and the Android ADT (Android Development Tools), and provides tools for you to write your Android programs.

 4. Android ADT: Does a lot of the grunt work for you, such as creating the files and structure required for an Android app.

"A benefit of working with open-source software is that most of the time, you can get the tools to develop the software for free. Android is no exception to that rule. All the tools that you need to develop rich Android applications are free of charge." Follow @amardeepvijay

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How to Run Android App on windows PC

If you have always wanted to run all your favorite Android apps on your Windows computer with a big diaplay then you are very luck. A company called BlueStacks has recently come up with a solution that will allow you to do just that. Called BlueStacks, this program for Windows computers will grant you an Android interface for which you can use to run all your Android apps. Designed for laptops, netbooks and tablets.

•    Runs Android apps and app stores on your PC, no phone required
•  Download thousands of apps online via app stores within youwave
•  High performance - The fastest way to run Android on pc
• Easy to use - Easy to install. Easy to import and run apps.

How to run android app on windows pc

Key Technical Features

·         Runs on Windows XP/Vista/7, 32/64 bit

·         Simulated SD card functionality - enables game saving

·         Saved State - enables fast restart

·         Dynamic rotating - phone-like instant response (new)

·         Retractable control panel (new)

Installing It

·         The current version of BlueStacks is Beta-1, and for now you can get it for free You download and run an installer program, which, in turn, downloads the actual code for BlueStacks and installs it.

·         BlueStacks also has a related application, Cloud Connect, which lets you synchronize Android apps from your phone or tablet to a PC running BlueStacks App Player.Cloud Connect is very useful and is also an easy road for malware.

·         Download Here

The user interface
Upon complete installation, BlueStacks places two shortcuts on the Windows desktop: "Start BlueStacks" and "Android Apps." It lists icons for "My Apps," "Top 25 App," "Games" and "Messaging." 

How to run android app on windows pc

Clicking My Apps opens a window showing icons of the apps installed in BlueStacks. Among Popular Downloads, there's Angry Birds, Facebook and YouTube available to download and install. There's a search box below these icons which you use to find apps in the app stores.
Three buttons below the display window represent the standard main buttons of a typical Android device, from left to right: Back, Menu and Home.

How to run android app on windows pc

Icons for "Suggested Apps" run along a sidebar to the right of the main display window, the selection of which changes based on the app that is presently running on BlueStacks. For example, when I run the messenger app eBuddy, this sidebar then listed apps for other instant messengers.
 
Synchronise with your Android device
Apps and SMS texts on your Android device can be synced to the BlueStacks application running on your Windows PC. You set this by entering an email address and your phone's number into BlueStacks. You'll then receive an email which contains a 3-digit PIN assigned to you by the BlueStacks server. Next, you download and install on your Android device the free BlueStacks Cloud Connect app from the Google Play Store. The first time you run this app, you enter the PIN. After you do this, Cloud Connect will list all the apps that are installed on your Android device. To sync an app with your Windows computer, you tap on the checkmark box by it. A copy of the app on your phone or tablet will be installed on your computer running BlueStacks, and will appear in the applications' My Apps folder. Follow @amardeepvijay

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Android Activity LifeCycle Part 2

In Android, the applications are run as a separate Linux process. So the application lifecycle is closely related to the process lifecycle. The application process lifecycle is handled by the system depending on the current system memory state.

In case of low memory, the Android system kills some less important process. The process importance is decided depending on the state of the process components.

The process types depending on the importance are as follows (from most important to least important):

1. Foreground process: A foreground process is the application process with which the user is currently interacting. The process is considered to be foreground if its Activity is at the top of the Activity stack (its onResume() has been called) or BroadcastReceiver is currently running (onReceive() method is currently getting executed) or its Service is executing callback functions like onCreate(), onStart() or onDestroy() methods.

2. Visible Process: A visible process is the process which has an Activity visible to the user (its onPause() method has been called).

3. Service Process: Service process contains a Service for which startService method is called and the service is running.

4. Background Process: The background process does not have any visible activities to the user. (Activity onStop() method has been called).

5. Empty Process: Empty process is the one that does not have any active application components. These processes are kept on for caching purpose.

It is important that application developers understand lifecycle of the application process. Not using these correctly can result in the system killing the application’s process while it is doing important work.

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