Environment Setup

Prerequisites

• A computer with at least 8GB RAM (16GB recommended)
• 30GB of free disk space
• Java Development Kit (JDK) 17 or later
• Internet connection for downloading SDK components

Installing Android Studio

1. Download Android Studio from developer.android.com/studio
2. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard
3. Select "Standard" installation type to install the latest SDK
4. Choose a dark or light theme
5. Wait for the SDK components to download

Android SDK Manager

The SDK Manager lets you install and manage Android SDK platforms, build tools, and system images.

// Key SDK components to install:
// - Android SDK Platform (latest API level)
// - Android SDK Build-Tools
// - Android Emulator
// - Intel HAXM or Windows Hyper-V for emulator acceleration
// - System images for different API levels

// Via command line (sdkmanager):
sdkmanager "platforms;android-34"
sdkmanager "build-tools;34.0.0"
sdkmanager "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64"
sdkmanager --licenses

Android Studio Overview

• Project View: Browse your project files and resources.
• Code Editor: Write Kotlin/Java with intelligent completion.
• Layout Editor: Design UIs visually with drag-and-drop.
• Logcat: View system and app logs in real-time.
• Profiler: Monitor CPU, memory, network, and energy usage.
• AVD Manager: Create and manage Android Virtual Devices (emulators).

Project Structure

MyAndroidApp/
  app/
    src/
      main/
        java/com/example/app/   # Source code (Kotlin/Java)
        res/
          drawable/              # Images and drawable resources
          layout/                # XML layout files
          mipmap/                # Launcher icons
          values/                # Strings, colors, themes
        AndroidManifest.xml      # App configuration
      test/                      # Unit tests
      androidTest/               # Instrumented tests
    build.gradle.kts             # App-level build config
  build.gradle.kts               # Project-level build config
  settings.gradle.kts            # Project settings
  gradle.properties              # Gradle properties

Build System (Gradle)

// app/build.gradle.kts
plugins {
    id("com.android.application")
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android")
}

android {
    namespace = "com.example.myapp"
    compileSdk = 34

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId = "com.example.myapp"
        minSdk = 24
        targetSdk = 34
        versionCode = 1
        versionName = "1.0"
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            isMinifyEnabled = true
            proguardFiles(getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android.txt"))
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation("androidx.core:core-ktx:1.12.0")
    implementation("androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1")
    testImplementation("junit:junit:4.13.2")
}

Setting Up the Emulator

# Create an AVD (Android Virtual Device) via command line
avdmanager create avd -n Pixel6_API34 -k "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64" -d pixel_6

# Start the emulator
emulator -avd Pixel6_API34

# Or use Android Studio:
# Tools > AVD Manager > Create Virtual Device