am c7d1ee8b: docs only. add new Updating Your SDK doc; update the \'android\' tool documentation.

page.title=Other Tools

@jd:body

<p>The sections below describe other tools that you can use when building Android applications. </p>

<p>The sections below describe other tools that you can use when building 

Android applications. </p>

<p>All of the tools are included in the Android SDK and are accessible from the <code>&lt;sdk&gt;/tools/</code> directory.</p>

<p>All of the tools are included in the Android SDK and are accessible from the 

<code>&lt;sdk&gt;/tools/</code> directory.</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

<a name="activitycreator"></a>

<h2 id="android">android</h2>

<p>The android tool is a script that lets you create and manage Android Virtual Devices (AVDs) and, if you are developing using Ant, generate template Android projects to help you get started quickly. </p>

<p>{@code android} is an important development tool that lets you:</p>

<p>For information about how to use the android tool to manage AVDs, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/avd.html">Android Virtual Devices</a>. </p>

<ul>

  <li>Create, delete, and view Android Virtual Devices (AVDs). See 

  <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/avd.html">Android Virtual Devices</a>.</li>

  <li>Create and update Android projects. See

  <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/other-ide.html">Developing in Other IDEs</a>.</li>

  <li>Update your Android SDK with new platforms, add-ons, and documentation. See

  <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/updating-sdk.html">Updating Your SDK</a>.</li>

</ul>

<p>For information about how to use the android tool to create or update a project, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/other-ide.html">Developing in Other IDEs</a>. </p>

<p>Note that if you are developing in Eclipse with the ADT plugin, you will use the android tool to manage the AVDs you create, but you will not use the android tool for creating a project. The ADT plugin provides a New Project Wizard that helps you set up an Android project in Eclipse. </p>

<p>If you are developing in Ant, you will use the android tool to manage your AVDs, and you can also use it to create or update a project. </p>

<p class="note">Note: The android tool replaces the activitycreator tool provided in previous SDK releases.</p>

<p>If you develop in Eclipse with the ADT plugin, you can perform

these tasks directly from the IDE. To create

Android projects and AVDs from Eclipse, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/eclipse-adt.html">Developing

In Eclipse</a>. To update your SDK from Eclipse, see

<a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/updating-sdk.html">Updating Your SDK</a>. 

</p>

<a name="mksdcard"></a>

<h2>mksdcard</h2>

<p>The mksdcard tool lets you quickly create a FAT32 disk image that you can load in the emulator, to simulate the presence of an SD card in the device. Here is the usage for mksdcard:</p>

<p>The mksdcard tool lets you quickly create a FAT32 disk image that you can 

load in the emulator, to simulate the presence of an SD card in the device. 

Here is the usage for mksdcard:</p>

<pre>mksdcard [-l label] &lt;size&gt;[K|M] &lt;file&gt;</pre>

<tr>

	<td><code>size</code></td>

	<td>An integer that specifies the size (in bytes) of disk image to create. 

You can also specify size in kilobytes or megabytes, by appending a "K" or "M" to &lt;size&gt;. For example, <code>1048576K</code>, <code>1024M</code>.</td>

You can also specify size in kilobytes or megabytes, by appending a "K" or "M" to 

&lt;size&gt;. For example, <code>1048576K</code>, <code>1024M</code>.</td>

</tr>

<tr>

</table>

<p>Once you have created the disk image file, you can load it in the emulator at startup using the emulator's -sdcard option. For more information, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/emulator.html">Android Emulator</a>.</p>

<p>Once you have created the disk image file, you can load it in the emulator at 

startup using the emulator's -sdcard option. For more information, see 

<a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/emulator.html">Android Emulator</a>.</p>

<pre>emulator -sdcard &lt;file&gt;</pre>

<h2>dx</h2>

<p>The dx tool lets you generate Android bytecode from .class files. The tool converts target files and/or directories to Dalvik executable format (.dex) files, so that they can run in the Android environment. It can also dump the class files in a human-readable format and run a target unit test. You can get the usage and options for this tool by using <code>dx --help</code>.</p>

<p>The dx tool lets you generate Android bytecode from .class files. The tool 

converts target files and/or directories to Dalvik executable format (.dex) files, 

so that they can run in the Android environment. It can also dump the class files 

in a human-readable format and run a target unit test. You can get the usage and 

options for this tool by using <code>dx --help</code>.</p>

page.title=Updating Your SDK

@jd:body

<div id="qv-wrapper">

<div id="qv">

<h2>Quickview</h2>

<ul>

  <li>Use the Android SDK and AVD Manager to 

   install individual Android platforms, add-ons, tools

   and documentation.</li>

  <li>Keep your SDK up-to-date without having to install new

   SDK directories and update your Eclipse preferences or {@code PATH} 

   variable.</li>

  <li>The Android SDK and AVD Manager is available only with the 

   Android 1.6 SDK or later.</li>

</ul>

<h2>In this document</h2>

<ol>

  <li><a href="#Install">Installing SDK Packages</a></li>

  <li><a href="#Add">Adding SDK Package Sites</a></li>

</ol>

</div>

</div>

<p>The <strong>Android SDK and AVD Manager</strong> lets you

update your Android SDK without a visit to the

Android Developers web site. Instead of downloading an entirely new SDK

that includes Android platforms, tools, and documentation, you can instead

install only the individual packages that you want.</p>

<p>For example, when a new version of the Android platform is made available

for developing applications, use the SDK and AVD Manager to install the

platform into your existing SDK directory. You can then use the new platform

in your <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/avd.html">AVDs</a> and

build your apps against it.</p>

<p>The benefit to using this feature is that your SDK directory will

remain the same. You don't need to reset the SDK location in

your Eclipse preferences or modify your {@code PATH} environment variable,

because all new packages are installed into your existing SDK directory.</p>

<p>The SDK and AVD Manager can be opened in two ways:</p>

<ul>

  <li>Execute the 

  <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/othertools.html#android">{@code 

  android}</a> tool with no options, or</li>

  <li>From Eclipse, select <strong>Window</strong> > <strong>Android 

  SDK and AVD Manager</strong>.</li>

</ul>

<p>The screenshot below shows the Android SDK and AVD Manager

with the Available Packages open.</p>

<img src="{@docRoot}images/sdk_manager_packages.png" alt="" />

<h2 id="Install">Installing SDK Packages</h2>

<p>When a new Android SDK platform, add-on, set of development tools or

documentation becomes available, you can quickly download and

install them into your existing Android SDK:</p>

<ol>

  <li>Select <strong>Available Packages</strong> in the left panel.

  This will reveal all packages currently available for download.</li>

  <li>Select the packages you'd like to install and click <strong>Install

  Selected</strong>.</li>

  <li>Verify and accept the packages you want and click <strong>Install

  Accepted</strong>. The packages will now be installed into your existing

  Android SDK directories.</li>

</ol>

<p>New platforms are automatically saved into the 

<code><em>&lt;sdk_dir>/</em>platforms/</code> directory of your SDK;

new add-ons are saved in the <code><em>&lt;sdk_dir>/</em>add-ons/</code>

directory; and new documentation is saved in the existing

<code><em>&lt;sdk_dir>/</em>docs/</code> directory (old docs are replaced).</p>

<p class="note"><strong>Tip:</strong>

Use the "Display updates only" checkbox to show only the packages

you do not have.</p>

<h2 id="Add">Adding SDK Package Sites</h2>

<p>By default, <strong>Available Packages</strong> only shows 

the Google repository for Android SDK packages and Google API

add-ons. You can add additional sites that host

Android SDK add-ons, then download add-on packages from them.</p>	

<p>For example, a mobile carrier or hardware manufacturer may offer additional

API libraries that are supported by their own Android-powered devices. 

In order for you to develop using their libraries, you may need to install an 

Android SDK add-on.

If the carrier or manufacturer has hosted an add-on repository file on their

web site, add their site to the SDK and AVD Manager:</p>

<ol>

  <li>Select <strong>Available Packages</strong> in the left panel.</li>

  <li>Click <strong>Add Site</strong> and enter the URL of the 

{@code repository.xml} file. Click <strong>OK</strong>.</li>

</ol>

<p>Any SDK packages available from the web site will now be listed and

available for you to install in your existing Android SDK.</p>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>guide/developing/debug-tasks.html">

            <span class="en">Debugging Tasks</span>

          </a></li>

      <li><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>guide/developing/updating-sdk.html">Updating Your SDK</a></li>

      <li class="toggle-list">

        <div><a href="<?cs var:toroot ?>guide/developing/tools/index.html">

            <span class="en">Tools</span>