How to Setup Android Application Development on Eclipse?

In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through a step-by-step by procedure for setting up Android Application Development on Eclipse. Although there are various other compilers to develop android applications, Eclipse is one of the widely used platform. Eclipse is simply an IDE written in Java that contains a workspace and an extensible plugin for customizing the Integrated Development Environment.

It supports many programming languages: C, C++, Fortran, Natural, Javascript, PHP, Python, Ruby, and many more. Out of the various compilers available to develop android apps, Eclipse, being capable of providing a new dark theme with syntax highlighter settings for many programming languages, is widely preferred for the development of Android Applications.

Read more about Eclipse here.

Steps to Setup Android Application Development on Eclipse:

Step 1. Download JAVA Development Kit (JDK) in accordance with your operating system i.e. if your operating system is x86, JDK should also be of x86 version. Click here to download JDK.

Step 2. The second step is to Download Eclipse. It recommended to download it from its Official Site. Download the eclipse that matches with your operating system.

Step 3. Now, Android Development Tools(ADT) are required to be downloaded and installed following the sub-steps presented below:

• Open the download file and select Install New Software.
• In the dialogue box, click add at Add (Refer to above screenshot)
• Enter the name (you can use any name you like but here I have used ADT Plugin). Click OK after filling the location filled with this url https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/. Sometimes, there may occur error in downloading; in that case use http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/.
• Wait till a list of tools is shown on the dialogue box. Select “Developers Tools” by clicking on the check box. Here’s the screenshot for this:

• After reading license agreement, accept it. Click Finish and Restart the Eclipse.

Step 4. The fourth and the last step is to Download and Install Software Development Kit(SDK). Go through the following sub-steps to download and install SDK.

• Open your internet browser and paste this link http://developer.android.com/sdk/ on url bar.
• The site give you two options of download: archive with SDT and AVD (Android Virtual Device). It is better to download the installer.
• If have downloaded the Installer, click the run button. It is necessary to unpack the archive in appropriate location, if you have downloaded the archive.
• Open the SDK Manager. It may take a few minutes to collect all the available tools and platforms.
• Now, select the platform where the application is to be built and installed.
• Finally, open the eclipse and set the path of SDK in preference window by choosing Android. Refer the following screenshot.

Following above steps, you can easily setup Android Application Development on Eclipse. If you have any queries, feedback or suggestions regarding this tutorial, bring them up from the comments section below.