How to Download the Android SDK

Instructions

• 1

  Learn the basics of cross compiling
  
  You should learn the idea behind the remote development kit before proceeding forward. Cross compiling means to compile an executable binary for a remote system by using the resources of another system. For example in this case, we will be cross compiling the code for the Android system by downloading and installing the kit on our Personal Computer (PC).
• 2

  Linux is a must
  
  A know how of Linux is also necessary before attempting to try Android Application development. Linux is a type of operating system which is based on the principle of free and open-source software development and distribution. There are many variations of Linux present online; Android, Angstrom, Red-Hat, Ubuntu, Fedora to name a few.
• 3

  Know how of Ubuntu
  
  We will be using Ubuntu in our tutorial so you should have a basic idea of Ubuntu. You should know how to browse files, folders and how to execute Applications from the command line.
  
• 4

  Downloading packages in Ubuntu for Froyo
  
  You will have to install the following packages in your Ubuntu system from the command line. Open the terminal and type the following commands.
  
  sudo apt-get update
  
  sudo apt-get install curl
  
  sudo apt-get install git-core
  
  sudo apt-get install bison
  
  sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk
  
  sudo apt-get install g++
  
  sudo apt-get install flex
  
  sudo apt-get install gperf
  
  sudo apt-get install zlib1g-dev
  
  sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev
  
  sudo apt-get install xorg-dev
  
  This will install the necessary libraries required for the cross-compilation of an Android System using Froyo as OS.
• 5

  Downloading Packages for Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich
  
  sudo apt-get install curl
  
  sudo apt-get install git-core
  
  sudo apt-get install bison
  
  sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk
  
  sudo apt-get install g++
  
  sudo apt-get install g++-multilib
  
  sudo apt-get install flex
  
  sudo apt-get install gperf
  
  sudo apt-get install zlib1g-dev
  
  sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev
  
  sudo apt-get install xorg-dev
  
  sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dev
  
  This will install the necessary libraries required for the cross-compilation of an Android System using Gingerbread or later versions as OS.
• 6

  Check version of Java
  
  Verify that you have the correct version of Java installed on your Ubuntu. Java version 5 is required for Froyo development while Java version 6 is required for Gingerbread and later versions. The version of Java can be verified by the following command.
  java -version