OS - Android

Android is a mobile OS commonly used on smartphones and tablet computers.

Tablets with a USB port and Android version 3.1 or greater can control Phidgets directly plugged in to them. Earlier Android versions (tested down to 2.1) can control Phidgets over a network using the Webservice.

Getting Started (Libraries and Drivers)

If this is your first Phidget, we highly recommend working through the Getting Started guide for your specific Phidget device.

Android code is developed on an external platform anyway (i.e. Windows, Mac OS, or Linux), and so getting your Phidget to work locally on that platform first will help you distinguish any issues from network ones later.

Near the end of the Windows, Mac OS, or Linux setup process, we direct you to choose a language. At that point, please remember to return here to this Android Java page.

Alternately, you can first try using mainstream Java. On the mainstream Java page, we provide example code - including code that works on the Android development platform of Eclipse - to test your Phidget directly from your development computer.

Installing

Eclipse (Android Java Development Platform)

Development for your Android OS Phidget application can occur on Linux, Mac OSX, or Windows. We recommend using Eclipse so you can run our provided Phidget examples.

You will need the following:

1. The JDK and Java on your development system
   • See the mainstream Java page for details on Java for Windows, Mac, and Linux
2. Eclipse (a Java Integrated Development Environment) on your development system
   • http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ (for Windows or MacOS)
   • sudo apt-get install eclipse (for Linux)
   • For 64-bit Linux, you will need the ia32-libs package as well, try:

     sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

Android SDK (and ADT Eclipse Plugin)

After installing Java and Eclipse, you can install the Software Developer's Toolkit (SDK) and the plugin for Eclipse (ADT).

1. Download and install the Android SDK package for your development system:
   • See the download instructions link at http://developer.android.com/sdk/
   • Google's instructions for installing are here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html
2. Download and install the ADT Eclipse Plugin for Android
   • Follow the instructions at http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html

To check that the JDK, the Android SDK, and Eclipse have all been configured correctly, use the Google HelloAndroid example:

http://developer.android.com/resources/tutorials/hello-world.html

Once you have confirmed that the Android SDK has been correctly installed, you are ready to begin developing applications with the Android Java libraries and language.

Android SDK and ADT on Linux

Run the Android SDK manager. If android-sdk-linux is the unpacked directory that was downloaded, try:

android-sdk-linux/tools/android

This will give you the option to download the Android versions you want to support. Running the SDK from within Eclipse (Window → Android SDK) will let you add those Android versions to Eclipse, for emulating them before downloading to an Android device and using with Phidgets.

Then, to add Android support to Eclipse, first make sure adb is in your path (e.g. by adding it to /etc/environment

Phidget Libraries

The library phidget21.jar from the Android examples (not the mainstream Java examples, despite the same name) are the libraries for including with your Android code. You can download the examples and extract it specifically if needed:

• http://www.phidgets.com/downloads/examples/android-examples_2.1.8.20120216.tar.gz

When you download and unzip the Phidget Library for Android, it will contain three things:

1. A libs/ folder
2. A jar file containing the general Phidget java library (phidget21.jar)
3. A jar file for directly driving USB devices from a USB port on the Android device (PhidgetsUSB.jar)

Feel free to browse around to get a sense of what will be going on the Android OS side. We describe how to link and use this library later on the Write your own Android code section of the Android Java page.

First, though, it will be useful to check to make sure Phidgets work with your Android system.

Checking

Software

The first way to see whether your libraries are set up correctly on

Hardware

Unfortunately, Android does not provide a way for the user to check whether a USB device is properly connected to a tablet. The best way to check that any Phidget hardware is connected would be to run our Hello World USB example.

If it doesn't work make sure that other devices that are supposed to work with your tablet (USB data keys, keyboards, etc. - the list depending entirely on which tablet) do indeed work.

Programming Languages

Android OS programs are written in Android Java using the Android SDK and the Phidgets library.

Note that Android Java is NOT the same as mainstream Java. Any Java programs you have will probably need significant modification before they run on Android, including our mainstream Java Phidget Examples

Common Problems and Solutions

If you are having trouble, ensure your Phidget libraries are up to date.