Install Android

Now that we are here, I can assume that we are quite convinced of app development for Android. Still there may be few uncertainties that can creep up. Well, lets not discuss about why's of Android again and lets just say we want explore this a bit further. I am sure once we look at how easy it is to setup, we can have our ways cleared.

Android development core can be called as Android SDK. This can be easily downloaded from the net from the android development page. After, you have downloaded the sdk, you may need an IDE for development ease. My favorite is eclipse. Yup, you can download a plugin that could enable your eclipse to support Android development. 

There is a a shorter way of doing the same. A pre-configured or customized eclipse version can be downloaded as well. This will give you everything you may need from basic development all in one go.

Download a complete IDE for Android development

Let's discuss the shorter part of the installation first as it will be easier and preferred.

Installing the Eclipse ADT Bundle

After we have successfully downloaded the ADT bundle, we would have got a zip file for the same.

1. Unpack the ZIP file (named adt-bundle-<os_platform>.zip) and save it to any appropriate location.
2. Open the adt-bundle-<os_platform>/eclipse/ directory and launch Eclipse.
3. After the eclipse IDE is opened click on the SDK Manager link. You will have to upgrade ADT before we can start.
4. After the SDK is opened, Install the latest from the manager. Please visit the link to know the details. 

Installing the SDK

Your download package is an executable file that starts an installer. The installer checks your machine for required tools, such as the proper Java SE Development Kit (JDK) and installs it if necessary. The installer then saves the Android SDK Tools into a default location (or you can specify the location).

1. Double-click the executable (.exe file) to start the install.
2. Make a note of the name and location in which it saves the SDK on your system—you will need to refer to the SDK directory later when using the SDK tools from the command line.
3. Once the installation completes, the installer starts the Android SDK Manager.
4. After the Manager is opened please update your sdk using the same method as explained above in step 4.

There is another option for development. The Android Studio. It is a Beta version and said to have more development features like maven etc. Once, it is released properly, it will be the official IDE for Android development. To know more about studio - click here.

Installing Android Studio

1. Launch the downloaded EXE file, android-studio-bundle-<version>.exe.Follow the setup wizard to install Android Studio.On some Windows systems, the launcher script does not find where Java is installed. If you encounter this problem, you need to set an environment variable indicating the correct location.
2. Select Start menu > Computer > System Properties > Advanced System Properties. Then open Advanced tab > Environment Variables and add a new system variable JAVA_HOME that points to your JDK folder, for example C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_21.

* Please install Java before you install the Studio. For more instructions, read this.

Well, after, you have downloaded, installed and upgraded your preferred  environment, start developing. Trust me this all you need to setup. The ease of installation and getting started is amazing. Let me know if there are any issues you face on the same.