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Setting up the Android SDK in Linux (Eclipse IDE)

While it’s generally pretty “easy” to setup the Android SDK in Linux (in my case Ubuntu 10.04), there are a few quirks that required some searching on the Internet to figure out.

The SDK and related items are located here:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

Here is the general process I went through to get things running:
– Install JDK by typing “jdk” into the ubuntu software center and install the proper piece of software. I think you need at least version 5 or 6 for the Android SDK.

– Install eclipse by getting the latest version at http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

– Download “Eclipse IDE for Java Developers”

– Extract eclipse-java-helios-SR1-linux-gtk-x86_64.tar.gz (or similar depending on what version you download) to say the… /home/user/ directory (you can run the program by double clicking on the “eclipse” icon in the main directory of the program.

– I started the program and defined my workspace in a location of my choosing. This is where project files will be stored. In my case I put the workspace on a different disk drive as my primary OS drive is on the small side.

– Extract and then copy the android-sdk-linux_x86 folder into the eclipse main folder you just made and extracted files to.

– Install the ADT plugin for eclipse by adding an plug-in software source to the Eclipse IDE: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ Add that link when you are in Help >> Install New Software… from the main menu.

– Open a terminal window and type in: gedit ~/.bashrc and add these lines where USERNAME is your username and the other folders properly fit your path.

export PATH=${PATH}:/home/USERNAME/eclipse/android-sdk-linux_x86/tools
export PATH=${PATH}:/home/USERNAME/eclipse/android-sdk-linux_x86/platform-tools

– Now you should be able to run “android” from the terminal so you can install the necessary add-ons. I went into “Available Packages” and clicked the check-box next to their single repository (software source), which will install all items.

– Create a new virtual device (say android 2.1 with a 256mb sd card and hvga screen) for testing later.

– In Eclipse go into window >> preferences and set the SDK location in the Android section (eg. mine is like /home/USERNAME/eclipse/android-sdk-linux_x86) otherwise you will not be able to create an Android project in Eclipse because there will be no SDK targets.

– In Eclipse go into window >> preferences and change the Java build path from “folders” to “project” to avoid having the build error “Error: Unable to open class file R.java” if you had that error, fix the problem as above and then restart the IDE by selecting File >> Restart or close and re-open the program manually.

– Open up Eclipse IDE and do File >> New >> Project and select the Android drop-down to show the Android project option. If the option isn’t listed you need to make sure the Eclipse plugin was installed.

-Up to this point you can run through the hello world tutorial here: http://developer.android.com/resources/tutorials/hello-world.html

EDIT: Issue with AAPT error in Eclipse:
Make sure ia32-libs is installed on the system.

Also, if you are having an error after changing your system/upgrading/etc like error executing aapt “android packaging problem” you should go into the Eclipse menu and select Project >> Clean… to fix up the projects and remove any output files, xml files, or whatever is causing the error. It worked for me.

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