Table of Contents
Overview
Before writing a single line of Android code, you need a working development environment. For this course, you will use Android Studio, Kotlin, and the official Android tools that come with the Android SDK. In this chapter you will focus on what you must have installed, how the pieces fit together conceptually, and what you should aim for by the end of the setup process. Detailed installation steps, SDK tools, emulator configuration, and using a physical device are covered in the child chapters, so here you will only build the big picture.
What You Need to Build Android Apps
To develop Android apps you need four main ingredients. First, a computer that runs a supported operating system. Android Studio works on Windows, macOS, and many Linux distributions. The specific system requirements can change over time, but you should expect to need a 64 bit system, several gigabytes of free disk space, and enough memory to run both Android Studio and an emulator comfortably.
Second, you need an Integrated Development Environment, or IDE. In this course, that IDE is Android Studio. It provides a code editor, designers, tools to run and debug your application, and integration with the Android SDK and build system.
Third, you need the Android Software Development Kit, or Android SDK. The SDK contains the Android platform libraries, build tools, and other utilities used to compile and package your app. Android Studio manages the SDK for you, but it is important to know that the SDK is a separate layer that your IDE uses to actually build Android applications.
Fourth, you need at least one way to run and test your app. This can be an Android Virtual Device, also called an emulator, or a real physical Android device that you connect to your computer with a USB cable or over a network. During this course you will learn to use both options, but at the environment level you should decide which option is more convenient for your hardware.
At the end of your environment setup you must be able to do three things: open Android Studio, create a new Android project, and run that project on either an emulator or a physical Android device without errors.
The Role of Android Studio
Android Studio is the central application you will interact with for almost everything in this course. It is based on the IntelliJ IDEA platform and tailored specifically for Android development.
From the perspective of environment setup, Android Studio has three important roles. It downloads and manages the Android SDK and related tools. It offers a graphical interface to create and configure emulators. It integrates the Gradle build system so you can build, run, and debug your apps with a single button.
When you first install Android Studio, it will usually walk you through a setup wizard. This wizard lets you choose a default configuration, download an SDK version, and optionally install some tools like an Android Virtual Device. In later chapters, you will see how to customize those choices, but for now you only need to understand that Android Studio is the place where you choose which pieces of the Android toolchain to install and where they live on your machine.
Understanding the Android SDK in Your Environment
Although Android Studio can hide some details, it is helpful to know what the SDK contributes to your environment. The Android SDK is not just one thing. It is a collection of platforms, build tools, platform tools, and extras. Each Android version that you want to target has an associated platform in the SDK. When you build an app for a specific API level, Gradle uses the matching platform from your installed SDK.
There is also a set of tools that support development activities. These include tools that communicate with devices, tools that compile resources, and tools that package your app into an installable format. You will explore them more directly in the separate SDK chapter. At the environment level, your main concern is that the SDK must be installed once and kept up to date enough to match the minimum Android version you want your apps to support.
Android Studio keeps track of where the SDK is stored. This path can be shared across multiple projects. If you ever move the SDK, reinstall your operating system, or switch machines, you will need to point Android Studio to the correct SDK location again. For that reason it is a good idea to remember or note where the SDK is installed on your system.
Emulator and Device Choices
From the point of view of environment setup, choosing between an emulator and a physical device is a practical decision. An Android Virtual Device runs inside your computer. It simulates a specific phone or tablet model with a chosen Android version. The emulator is useful because it works even if you do not own an Android device or if your device is too old to match the Android version used in your projects. However, running an emulator can be demanding for your CPU and memory. If your computer is not powerful enough, the emulator may feel slow.
A physical device gives you a more realistic experience. It shows exactly how your app behaves on actual hardware, including touch, performance, and sensors. To use a physical device, you need to enable developer options and USB debugging on the device. You also need appropriate drivers on some operating systems. Once configured, Android Studio can detect your device and install apps on it directly.
In this chapter you do not need to configure any of this yet. Instead, you should understand that your environment will ultimately include one or more run targets. These targets appear inside Android Studio so you can choose where to run your app. The details of creating virtual devices and preparing real devices will be taken up in the dedicated emulator and physical device chapters.
Typical Setup Workflow
Although individual operating systems require different steps and menus, the general workflow for setting up the Android development environment is similar regardless of platform. First, you download the latest stable version of Android Studio from the official Android developer site. Second, you install Android Studio using the normal installer for your operating system. Third, you run Android Studio for the first time and follow the setup wizard. This wizard usually offers a standard installation profile that is suitable for beginners.
During the wizard, Android Studio downloads the Android SDK and some basic tools. Depending on your internet connection, this step can take time, because the SDK components are large. When the wizard finishes, you can open the Android Studio welcome screen and verify that a default SDK has been configured. At this point, your core environment is ready from the IDE and SDK perspective.
After this, you should ensure that you have at least one way to run your apps. Many developers start by creating a virtual device through the Android Virtual Device Manager in Android Studio. Others immediately connect a physical Android phone and enable debugging. The next chapters in this section guide you through each part. For now, it is enough to recognize that this final step, having a device or emulator visible to Android Studio, is what completes the environment.
Keeping Your Environment Healthy
As Android evolves, tools and SDK components receive updates. A working development environment is not a one time setup. You should get used to the idea of occasionally updating Android Studio and your installed SDK packages.
Android Studio has its own update mechanism. It can notify you when a new version is available. It also includes the SDK Manager, which can update individual SDK components. When you start a new project, Android Studio may suggest installing missing pieces that the project requires. Accepting these suggestions usually keeps your environment compatible with modern features.
However, not every update is mandatory for someone learning the basics. If an update appears during the course and you are not sure what it will change, you can note it and continue with the current tools until you reach lessons that depend on new features. The most important thing is that your environment stays consistent enough that you can follow the examples in this course, build them without errors, and run them on at least one target device or emulator.
What You Should Achieve in This Section
By the time you finish all the child chapters under environment setup, your situation should look like this. You can launch Android Studio and recognize the main areas that you will use. You know that the Android SDK is installed and that Android Studio knows where it is. You can see at least one emulator configuration or one connected physical device in the run target list. You can create a simple sample project and run it without changing any low level configuration files.
That condition is the foundation for everything that follows. Once your development environment is stable, the rest of the course will focus on Kotlin, Android app structure, and specific Android components. If you encounter problems at any later stage, one of the first troubleshooting steps will be to check that your environment is still in this healthy state.