This lesson describes the basic steps you need to follow in order to start up as an Android developer using a PC with the Linux operating system.

System configuration information and screen captures are provided.

The steps are set out in chronological order, first determining the software requirements and then setting up your system.

You will need a PC that has the following software installed:

• 32-bit installation, or a 64-bit linux distribution that has a 32-bit compatibility layer 
• 2.4.x or later kernel 
• glibc 2.3.2 or later X11R5 capable Xserver running locally on a 24-bit display 
• compositing window manager (optional - required for alpha-blended window shapes) 
• gtk/gdk/glib (optional - required for native theme support) 
• pango/xft (optional - required for pdf printing, anti-aliased text and unicode font support) 
• lcms (optional - required for color profile support in JPEGs and PNGs) 
• gksu (optional - required for elevate process support) 
• mplayer (optional - required for video playback) 
• esd (optional - required for audio playback)  

The easiest way to install the Java SDK is through the terminal. Open a new terminal window and type the following command:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk

Now press return.

If you do not have the Android SDK installed, then you can download it from: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html.

Navigate to the download link that is specific to your hardware platform.

Extract the contents of the downloaded Android SDK to a directory of your choosing.

Navigate to your Android SDK Directory and then to the 'Tools Directory'.

Run the item named android.

This launches Android SDK and AVD Manager

The Android Package Installer lets you select the packages you would like to install in your Android development environment.

Ensure that you install the SDK Platform Android 2.2, API 8 with revision 2 (or later revision) package.

After the Android SDK and AVD Manager has completed installing the selected packages, you should find that the status of packages has changed from Not Installed to Installed.

Once you have installed the required packages, you can use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to set up a virtual device that can be used in your development environment.

This allows you to test your applications without requiring a physical Android device.

You can set up a virtual device as follows:

1. Select Manage AVDs from the Androids SDK Manages Tools window
2. Choose “New” from the  AVD Device manager window
3. Choose the Name for your virtual device.
4. Set the Target an installed Android API other than 8.
5. Fill in the SD Card Size.
6. Optionally enable Snapshot. This speeds up the launch of the emulator.
7. Select Create AVD.

You can launch the emulator by highlighting the virtual device you created and selecting Start… .

In addition to setting up virtual devices, it is possible to set up physical devices.

These devices can be accessed after they have been appropriately configured for debugging.

Install the appropriate device drivers for the devices you would like to use. Details of how to do this can be found at the Android Developer Website.

The relevant device must be set to debug mode, once the necessary drivers are installed:

1. Go to the home screen, and select MENU.
2. Select Applications → Development and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect the device via USB to your development machine.
4. The device should now be available and accessible from the Development → Test Target menu.

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