Difference between revisions of "Android Tools"

Revision as of 02:20, 1 May 2010

Here are some development tools useful for working with Android

Android SDK

adb

adb is the android debugger - it also doubles as file transfer agent. The setup consists of an adbd on the target in the /sbin directory. On the host two programs are run: the adb application (in the SDK's tools directory) and an adb server, started by the adb application.

For emulators, adb will usually run automagically.

For real boards - with debugging over USB, you might need to do work, as is documented here: http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/device.html#setting-up .

For real boards that do not have a USB connection but have Ethernet instead, you might need to do a few tricks.

• make sure that adbd runs on the board. If it doesn't run, you might want to check the init.rc file.
• make sure that the network connection between host and the board is working - test pinging both ways.
• on the host, type the following (and yes, you need to specify the board's IP address on the host):

  ADBHOST=<target-ip> tools/adb kill-server
  ADBHOST=<target-ip> tools/adb shell

• you should now get a prompt on the board, you can exit the prompt if you want.
• tools/adb devices should now list the device.

fastboot

• Fastboot - Android Fastboot is a tool to boot and manipulate the partitions on an Android development phone.

• toolchains -
• logging system -
• Emulator - See http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/emulator.html

The emulator is a version of QEMU, which mimics the instruction set of an ARM processor, and the hardware that one might find on a mobile phone. The emulator runs on an x86 system, but executes an ARM linux kernel and programs. The flow of control is:

• • application ->
  • dalvik VM ->
  • C/C++ libraries ->
  • ARM linux kernel ->
  • emulated instructions and hardware (QEMU)->
  • C libraries->
  • x86 kernel ->
  • real hardware

other tools

agcc

• agcc - A wrapper tool for compiling native Android apps (linked directly to bionic)
  • See http://android-tricks.blogspot.com/2009/02/hello-world-c-program-on-using-android.html

bootchart

• bootchart

busybox

Android ships with a utility suite (called 'toolbox') that is not busybox.

You can get a binary busybox for Android here The site includes instructions for easy installation on your device.

smem

• smem

strace

• strace
  • Statically linked binary available at: http://benno.id.au/blog/2007/11/18/android-runtime-strace
  • Instructions for building Android strace - http://discuz-android.blogspot.com/2008/01/create-google-android-strace-tool.html

Eclipse

Hardware

Serial Cable for G1

You can build a serial cable to use with the G1, which is helpful to see kernel boot messages on the serial console.

See http://www.instructables.com/id/Android_G1_Serial_Cable

Back to Android Portal