Android Application Development
Objective #1: Use Google's free App Inventor to create an Android application.
- App Inventor - easy-to-use Android app development from Google, also see sites.google.com/site/appinventor
- More info for App Inventor found at http://notes.hfoss.org/index.php/AppInventor
- AppInventor helps you make a QR code for any apps that you create in AppInventor. The QR code makes it easy to install these apps on your phone as long as it is not an unrooted AT&T phone. When you take a picture of the QR code, you are required to login to your Google account and the apk file then downloads and installs on your phone. A workaround for anyone to install your app is to make a QR code of the web page address for your apps apk download page. Anyone who is not using an unrooted AT&T phone can download your app.
- While I haven't tried it, you can create your own Android or iPhone app at appsbar.com without any programming knowledge.
Objective #2: Explain the different features of different versions of Android.
- 1.5 Cupcake
- 1.6 Donut
- 2.0 & 2.1 Eclair
- 2.2 Froyo (API Level 8)
- 2.3 Gingerbread
- 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets
- 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Objective #3: Install the Android SDK & Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin for Eclipse
- Read http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html & http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html
- Install Eclipse http://www.eclipse.org/downloads
- Download & extract the Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk . You can either download and unzip the compressed .zip version. Or, you can use the self-extractor .exe version.
You may need to click "Settings"in the Android SDK and AVD Manager and checkmark "Force https://... sources to be fetched using http://"
Optional - After this android-sdk-windows folder has been extracted, right-click on it and uncheck the "Read-only" attribute if necessary. Otherwise, you will have difficulty executing the sample apps that are provided.
Sometimes,
I place this folder in the root of my user documents. For example, at school, I place this folder at H:\ since our school network considers the H drive to be my Home directory. You can add this location to your computer's PATH environment variable. Right-click on your My Computer icon, select Properties. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables, and double-click the entry for Path under System Variables. Append the path to your tools/ directory to the entry that is found there (e.g. ;H:/android/tools ). Also, it may be necessary to add a new Environment Variable by clicking he New button under the list of System variables. Type ANDROID_SDK_HOME as the Variable name. Type the path to your home directory (i.e. the place where you installed the android_sdk folder (e.g. for me at school it is H:\)
- Click on Window/Android SDK & AVD Manager. Click on Available packages and uncheck "Display updates only". Check the empty box at the top and click "Install Selected". On the next screen, check "Accept All" and "Install".
- Click the Eclipse menu command Help/Install New Software & click the Add button. Type "Android ADT Plugin" as the Name & type https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ as the Location and click OK. If you have trouble with that address, try changing https to just http without the letter s.
- Click the Eclipse menu command Window/Preferences, select Android in the left panel, & browse to select the correct placement for SDK Location in the right panel.
- Click the Eclipse menu command Window/Android SDK and AVD Manager. Click Virtual Devices in the left panel. Click the New button. Type a Name such as "emulator2_3". Choose Android 1.5 as the Target. Type 12 as the Size and click the Create AVD button.
- When you first execute an application, you should click the menu command Run/Run Configuations..., click Android Application from the left panel & then select your application from underneath that entry. In the right panel, click the Target tab. Click Automatic and make sure there is a checkmark next to the emulator that you created & click Run.
- References: talkandroid.com
Objective #4: Use Eclipse to modify the sample Android projects and tutorials that are included with the Android SDK.
- Click the menu command File/New/Android Project
- Click "create project from existing source" & browse to desired project in the samples subfolder of your android_sdk folder. Click Finish.
Objective #5: Load Android apps on phones
- You can email the apk file to yourself and open it on an Android smartphone or you can click the apk file from a memory card.
- Use Eclipse
- Declare the android app as debuggable by opening the AndroidManifest.xml manifest file and typing "true" next to the Debuggable property.
- Download the Android USB drivers from http://dl.google.com/android/android_usb_windows.zip & install manually or from within Eclipse using the menu command Window/Android SDK and AVD Manager. Click Available Packages and then Add Add-on Site, enter the website address above, etc.
- Connect the phone to the Windows computer with a USB cable. If/when Windows prompts you to find the drivers, navigate to the folder where you stored the USB drivers. I think I had to edit a .inf text file with an entry for the HTC Incredible phone because it was so new that the driver didn't recognize it.
- On the phone, go to Settings->Applications->Development to turn on USB debugging. You may also need to go to Settings->Application Settings and enable Unknown Sources. And, you may also need to go to Settings->SD Card and Phone Storage->Disable Use for USB Storage (though you can enable it later.)
- Go to android_sdk/tools directory in a command prompt to execute adb devices to see if there is an entry like "HTC048HJ00425" along with any emulators that you already have installed. You may have to reboot your computer at some point.
- Go to the Run/Run Configurations... menu command in Eclipse, click Android Application in the left panel and select the application underneath it. Go to the Target tab in the right panel, and choose Manual for Deployment Target Selection Mode. When you run the app, a Device Chooser will prompt you to select the connected phone rather than an installed emulator as the location where the app will execute.
- Use Android SDK and execute adb install path/{file name}.apk in a command prompt from the android_sdk/tools directory
- Upload the app to a marketplace
- You can place a .apk file on a website and set the web server to distribute it with the MIME type: application/vnd.android.package-archive This will install the file when the user downloads the file.
- References for installing Android apps: link, link, link,
- You can browse the Android Marketplace from many Android devices although some device manufacturers don't have the approval for the Android Marketplace to be installed on their phones.
- You can access the Android Market Web store at market.android.com to let install apps through a web browser and remotely install them on your phone or tablet.
Objective #6: Learn from online resources and links.