Prerequisites for Android Development

• Need to install Java Development Kit (JDK) to write Java (and Android) programs. Because Android is a Java based Programming language, we need to first have Java JDK on our operating system.
  • Do not install Java Runtime Environment (JRE). JDK and JRE are different!
• We can download the JDK for your OS at http://java.oracle.com
• Alternatively, for OS X, Linux:
  • OS X:
    • Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
    • Type javac at command line
    • Install Java when prompt appears
  • Linux:
    • Type sudo apt–get install default–jdk at command line
      (Debian, Ubuntu)
    • Other distributions: consult distribution’s documentation

• After installing JDK, download Android SDK from http://developer.android.com
• Simplest way is to download and install Android Studio bundle (including Android SDK) for your OS
• Alternatives:
  • Download/install Android Developer Tools from this site (based on Eclipse)
  • Install Android SDK tools by themselves, then install ADT for Eclipse separately (from this site)
• We’ll use Android Studio with SDK included (easy)

Android Studio installation is not very complicated and takes just a few clicks.

While the Android Studio download finishes, verify which version of the JDK you have: open a command line and type javac -version. If the JDK is not accessible or the version is minor than 1.8.

To install Android Studio on Windows, continue as follows:

1. Launch the .exefile you downloaded.
2. Follow the setup wizard to install Android Studio and any required SDK tools.

On some Windows systems, the launcher script does not catch where the JDK is installed. If you run into this problem, you need to set an setting variable representative the right location.

Select Start  > 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\jdk1.8.0_77.