Setup Guide

This page gets your machine ready for every lab: install Android Studio, create an emulator, and create a lab project the same way each week. Do this before your first lab session. The downloads are several gigabytes.

Why this page exists

The department manual was written for Android Studio 3.x. Menus, templates and defaults have changed a lot since then. Use the steps here, not the screenshots in the PDF.

What you need

	Minimum	Recommended
RAM	8 GB	16 GB or more
Free disk	16 GB	32 GB on an SSD
CPU	64-bit with virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) or Apple silicon
OS	Windows 10/11 64-bit, macOS, or a 64-bit Linux distribution

You do not need to install Java separately. Android Studio ships with its own JDK.

1. Install Android Studio

1. Go to developer.android.com/studio and download the latest stable release for your OS.
2. Install it:
   • Windows: run the .exe and keep the default components, including Android Virtual Device.
   • macOS: open the .dmg and drag Android Studio into Applications.
   • Linux: extract the .tar.gz (for example into /opt or your home folder) and run bin/studio.sh.
3. Start Android Studio. The Setup Wizard opens on first launch:
   1. Choose Do not import settings if asked.
   2. Pick the Standard install type.
   3. Pick a light or dark theme.
   4. Accept every license on the License Agreement screen. Click each item in the left list and accept it.
   5. Click Finish and wait while the SDK, platform tools and emulator download.
4. When the Welcome to Android Studio window appears, the install is done.

Keep the SDK path short and ASCII-only

On Windows the SDK goes into C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk by default. If your user name has spaces or non-English characters, change the SDK location to something like C:\Android\Sdk in Settings → Languages & Frameworks → Android SDK.

2. Create an emulator

1. From the Welcome window, open More Actions → Virtual Device Manager. Inside a project, use View → Tool Windows → Device Manager.
2. Click + (Create Virtual Device).
3. Choose a Phone profile, such as Pixel 8 or any recent Pixel, and click Next.
4. Choose a system image:
   • Pick a recent API level with the Google APIs or Google Play label. Images with Google Play are needed for the Maps experiment later.
   • Use the x86_64 image on Intel/AMD machines and the arm64-v8a image on Apple silicon.
   • Click the download icon next to the image if it is not installed yet.
5. Click Finish. The device appears in Device Manager.
6. Press ▶ next to the device to boot it once. The first boot is slow, and later boots are much faster.

The emulator is very slow or won't start

• Windows: enable Windows Hypervisor Platform in Turn Windows features on or off, then reboot. Make sure virtualization is enabled in your BIOS/UEFI.
• Linux: check that KVM works with ls -l /dev/kvm. Add yourself to the kvm group if needed (sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER), then log out and back in.
• Close other heavy apps. Give the emulator 2 GB of RAM in Edit device → Show Advanced Settings.
• As a last resort, use a physical phone (below).

Using a physical phone (optional)

1. On the phone, open Settings → About phone and tap Build number seven times to enable Developer options.
2. In Settings → System → Developer options, turn on USB debugging.
3. Connect the phone with a USB cable and accept the Allow USB debugging? prompt on the phone.
4. The phone now appears in the device drop-down in the Android Studio toolbar.

Recent phones can also use Wireless debugging (Developer options → Wireless debugging, then Pair Devices Using Wi-Fi in Device Manager).

3. Create a lab project

Every experiment starts with a new project created exactly this way. Each experiment page tells you which name to use.

1. From the Welcome window, click New Project. Inside an open project, use File → New → New Project….

2. In Phone and Tablet, select Empty Views Activity and click Next.

   Not "Empty Activity"

   Empty Activity creates a Kotlin + Jetpack Compose project. This lab uses Java and XML layouts, so you must pick Empty Views Activity.

3. Fill in the form:

   Field	Value
   Name	The name on the experiment page, e.g. Exp2CustomerList
   Package name	edu.birzeit.encs5150.exp2 (change the last part per experiment)
   Save location	Any folder without spaces, e.g. C:\AndroidLabs\Exp2CustomerList
   Language	Java
   Minimum SDK	API 24 ("Nougat"; Android 7.0)
   Build configuration language	Kotlin DSL (build.gradle.kts), the default. It is fine for Java apps.

4. Click Finish and wait for the first Gradle sync to finish (watch the status bar at the bottom). The first sync downloads dependencies and can take several minutes.

What the template gives you

Switch the Project tool window (left side) to the Android view. The files you will work with are:

File	Purpose
app/manifests/AndroidManifest.xml	Declares the app and every Activity in it
app/java/<package>/MainActivity.java	The first screen's code
app/res/layout/activity_main.xml	The first screen's XML layout
app/res/values/strings.xml	Text resources
Gradle Scripts/build.gradle.kts (Module :app)	minSdk, targetSdk and dependencies

The generated MainActivity looks like this:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        EdgeToEdge.enable(this);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        ViewCompat.setOnApplyWindowInsetsListener(findViewById(R.id.main), (v, insets) -> {
            Insets systemBars = insets.getInsets(WindowInsetsCompat.Type.systemBars());
            v.setPadding(systemBars.left, systemBars.top, systemBars.right, systemBars.bottom);
            return insets;
        });
    }
}

EdgeToEdge.enable(this) lets the app draw behind the status and navigation bars. The insets listener then pads the root view (the one with android:id="@+id/main") so your content isn't hidden under them. Keep these lines unless an experiment tells you otherwise. If you replace the layout, keep android:id="@+id/main" on its root element.

Run the app

1. Pick your emulator or phone in the device drop-down in the toolbar.
2. Click Run ▶ (Shift+F10 on Windows/Linux, Ctrl+R on macOS).
3. The app opens on the device and shows Hello World!

4. Add another Activity

Several experiments need a second screen. Let the wizard create it, so the Java class, the layout and the manifest entry are all made for you:

1. In the Project window, right-click your package folder under app/java/.
2. Choose New → Activity → Empty Views Activity.
3. Enter the Activity Name (e.g. AddCustomerActivity). Leave Generate a Layout File checked and Launcher Activity unchecked. Make sure Source Language is Java.
4. Click Finish.

The wizard adds <activity android:name=".AddCustomerActivity" … /> to AndroidManifest.xml. You do not need to edit the manifest by hand.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Gradle sync fails with a network error	You need internet access on the first sync. Check proxy settings in Settings → Appearance & Behavior → System Settings → HTTP Proxy, then File → Sync Project with Gradle Files.
SDK location not found	Open File → Project Structure → SDK Location and point it to your Android SDK folder.
Your Activity extends ComponentActivity or the code is Kotlin	You picked Empty Activity. Create the project again with Empty Views Activity.
Red R everywhere	Usually an XML error in a layout. Fix it (check the Build window), then Build → Rebuild Project.
Emulator shows "System UI isn't responding"	Wait for the first boot to finish, or use Cold Boot Now from the device's menu in Device Manager.
App installs but shows an old version	Run → Stop, then run again. If that doesn't help, uninstall the app from the emulator.