Android 2: Introduction to the
Technology
Kirk Scott
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1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
General Android Background
Development Software
Getting Started
Summary
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1.1 General Android Background
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• The Android platform belongs to Google
• The development environment is nonproprietary (no need to pay)
• It is supported by the Open Handset Alliance
(OHA)—cell phone manufacturers
• Many different companies cooperate to
support Android
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What Kinds of Companies Are
Involved?
• Hardware device manufacturers
• Mobile service providers
• Android/Google, which provides the basic
software operating and development
environments
• Independent app developers marketing
through the app store or other places
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The platform is based on:
• A widely-known object-oriented language,
Java
• A tested software development environment,
Eclipse
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Non-Proprietary
• Android is based on open source licensing
• Developers do not have to pay fees to use the
development tool kit
• They do not have to pay fees on the apps
developed with it
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Another useful aspect of the
development environment:
• It comes with an emulator for handheld
devices
• You can develop and test on this software
emulator
• You can develop and test apps even if you
don’t have a cell phone or tablet computer
available
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Versions
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Android has had a succession of versions
These are some of the more recent ones:
4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
4.1-4.3, Jellybean
4.4, KitKat
(They’ve all been named after sweets)
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1.2 Development Software and
Hardware
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• To develop for Android you need to have a
desktop or laptop computer
• On it you download and install two pieces of
software:
• The Java JDK (Standard Edition, SE)
• The Android Development Toolkit (ADT)
bundle
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• The ADT bundle includes Eclipse, a
programming environment
• We are not going to be programming
• However, we still need the development
environment in order to arrange for content,
resources, for the sample app
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• Eventually you will want a physical device to
run the app on
• The physical device that I have is a Nexus 7
running Android version 4.2.2
• Google Play for Education has standardized on
the Nexus 7 device
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Downloads
• Remember, the first piece of software you
need on your development machine is Java
• The entry point for downloading Java is
www.oracle.com
• On that Web page there is a link for
downloads
• Under that heading you can find Java for
developers
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• You need to find the right SDK for your system
and install it before installing the Android
tools
• These overheads will not give detailed
instructions
• If you have downloaded and installed
software before, you will be familiar with the
process
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• If you are not familiar, you will want to get
help from someone who is
• For reference purposes, a screen shot of the
download page is shown on the following
overhead
• (Download Java, not NetBeans)
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• The entry point for Android is
www.android.com
• On this Web page you’ll find a link for
developers or you can go directly to
developer.android.com
• Find the ADT bundle (The Android SDK) which
is right for your system and install it
• For the time being, just accept the defaults,
whatever they might be
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The Android Web Site
• Virtually anything you might want to know
about Android can be found at the developer’s
Web site
• It includes both general and technical
information
• The problem is too much information
• The overheads for this seminar are basically a
small selection from the contents of the Web
site
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1.3 Getting Started
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• The following overheads assume that Java and
the ADT bundle are installed on your system
• Once the ADT is installed, your entry point for
working with the sample app will be Eclipse
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The Eclipse Interface
• A screenshot of the Eclipse interface is shown
on the following overhead
• Android things are included in the toolbar and
menu when you successfully install Eclipse
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• This will be the starting point for the next set
of overheads
• That set of overheads will go over the
components of an app in general
• It will show how to locate those components
in the Eclipse environment
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• It will cover the topic of importing the
framework code for the sample app into the
environment
• It will then discuss how to include specific
resources in the framework
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1.4 Summary
• These are the most important points of this
set of overheads:
• 1. The goal is not to turn you into a
programmer or Android developer
• 2. The goal is to provide enough background
to create a simple educational app without
programming knowledge
• 3. This still requires understanding of the
development environment
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• In order to do this it is necessary to install the
following pieces of software:
• 1. Java
• 2. The Android ADT bundle
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• The details of installation are not covered
• A skilled computer user (not a programmer)
who is accustomed to software installation
can install the software by following the
directions
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• Once the software is installed:
• 1. Eclipse is the editor/command central for
working with Android apps at the development
level
• 2. In particular, this is where you can import the
sample framework app to, and where you can
add resources
• 3. Eclipse also allows you to keep the software
installation up-to-date
• 4. And Eclipse supports emulation
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• Finally, what we will eventually see:
• Out of the Eclipse interface it is possible to
directly install an app from the development
machine onto a tablet computer
• A laptop with the development software
installed is available
• A demo tablet is available that an app can be
transferred to from the development laptop
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The End
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