Creating a Project and an Activity

1. In Eclipse, choose File → New → Android Project.This displays a New Android Project creation screen.
   
2. Fill in the Project name, such as SimpleActivityExample.
   
3. Select a Build Target from the choices provided.These choices are based on the Software Development Kit (SDK) versions that are installed on the development computer.
   
4. Fill in the Application name, such as Example of Basic Activity.
   
5. Fill in the Package name, such as com.example.simple_activity.
   
6. To create the main activity in the same step, be sure Create Activity is checked and fill in an Activity name, such as SimpleActivity. 
   

Android OS Emulator Controls

Key                                     Emulated Function 

Escape                          Back button

Home                           Home button

F2, PageUp                  Menu button

Shift-F2,                      PageDown Start button

F3                                Call/Dial button

F4                                 Hangup/EndCall button

F5                             Search button

F7                              Power button

Ctrl-F3, Ctrl-KEYPAD_5 Camera button

Ctrl-F5, KEYPAD_PLUS Volume up button

Ctrl-F6, KEYPAD_MINUS Volume down button

KEYPAD_5 DPAD center

KEYPAD_4, KEYPAD_6 DPAD left, DPAD right

KEYPAD_8, KEYPAD_2 DPAD up, DPAD down

F8                                          Toggle cell network on/off

F9                                          Toggle code profiling (when -trace set)

Alt-ENTER                            Toggle fullscreen mode

Ctrl-T                                    Toggle trackball mode

Ctrl-F11, KEYPAD_7 Rotate screen orientation to previous or next layout Ctrl-F12, KEYPAD_9

  

FroYo: Android OS 2.2, API Level 8, Released May 20, 2010

• Linux kernel 2.6.32.
• Just-In-Time compilation (JIT) enabled, leading to faster code execution. n Voice dialing using Bluetooth.
•  Car and desk dock themes.
•  Better definition of multitouch events.
•  Cloud-to-device APIs.
•  Applications can request to be installed on the SD memory card.
•  Wi-Fi tether support on select devices.
•  Thumbnail utility for videos and images.
•  Multiple language support on keyboard input.
•  Application error reporting for Market apps. 

Eclair: Android OS 2.0, API Level 5, Released October 26, 2009 Android OS 2.0.1, API Level 6, Released December 3, 2009 Android OS 2.1, API Level 7, Released January 12, 2010

•  Sync adapter APIs to connect to any backend.
•  Embed Quick Contact accessible in applications.
•  Applications can control the Bluetooth connection to devices. n HTML5 support.
•  Microsoft Exchange support.
•  Multitouch is accessible through the MotionEvent class.
•  Animated wallpaper support. 

Donut: Android OS 1.6, API Level 4, Released September 15, 2009

• Linux kernel 2.6.29.
• Support for multiple screen sizes.
•  Gesture APIs.
• Text-to-speech engine.
•  Integrate with the Quick Search Box using the SearchManager. n Virtual Private Network (VPN) support. 

Cupcake: Android OS 1.5, API level 3, Released April 30, 2009

•  Linux kernel 2.6.27.
•  Smart virtual (soft) keyboard, support for third-party keyboards.
•  AppWidget framework.
•  Live Folders.
•  Raw audio recording and playback.
•  Interactive MIDI playback engine.
•  Video recording APIs.
•  Stereo Bluetooth support.
•  Removed end-user root access (unless tethered to computer and using SDK).
•  Speech recognition via RecognizerIntent (cloud service).
•  Faster GPS location gathering (using AGPS). 

How to install Android SDK in Eclipse?

1. Install the Java Development Kit (for example, install JDK 6.0 for use with Android 2.1 or above; JDK 5.0 is the minimum version needed for any earlier ver- sion of Android).
   
2. Install Eclipse Classic (for example, version 3.5.2). In the case of Windows, this just needs to be unzipped in place and is ready to use.
   
3. Install the Android SDK starter package (for example, version r06). In the case of Windows, this just needs to be unzipped in place and is ready to use.
   
4. Start Eclipse and select Help → Install New Software..., and then type https:// dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ and install the Android DDMS and Android Development Tools.
   
5. In Eclipse, select Window → Preferences... (on a Mac, select Eclipse → Prefer- ences) and select Android. Browse to the location where the SDK was unzipped and apply.
   
6. In Eclipse, select Window → Android SDK and AVD Manager → Available Packages, and then choose the necessary APIs to install (for example, Documenta- tion for Android SDK,API 8; SDK Platform Android 2.2,API 8; Google APIs by Google Inc.; and Android API 8).
   
7. From the same Android SDK and AVD Manager menu, create an Android virtual device to run the emulator or install USB drivers to run applications on a plugged- in phone.
   
8. InEclipse,selectRun→RunConfigurations...andcreateanewrunconfiguration to be used with each Android application (or similar for a Debug Configuration). Android JUnit tests can be configured here, too.