Apps Many issues with Eclipse

[Gullinbursti]

So I have quite a number of issues with Eclipse IDE. I have studied programming and a few tidbits about information systems in general in the past (a really looooong time ago...). I have coded things but it has been a really really long time, and now I just wanted to give it a go and make an application for my smartphone, something that I would create because no one else did; plus it's something really silly and supposedly easy.

I initially downloaded the Android SDK tools and installed the ones that developer.android.com said I would be needing. I later also downloaded the ADT Plugin, because I thought I would want to work on Eclipse. Then I downloaded Eclipse, installed it and started it. I asked Eclipse to download the ADT plugin as requested in the installation tips in developer.android.com and then after the program installed them, it restarted as it should.

From that point on I have been having a few issues. Once Eclipse restarted I should have been asked to specify the location of my Android SDK directory. It never asked me that. However, I did not have a problem starting the tutorial (the one in developer.android.com) which took me all the way to actually trying to test my My First App little application on my cell or the Android Virtual Device which I had to create first.

When I tried to create an AVD, after choosing and filling in all the information it might need, I clicked create AVD and the window hanged for a bit before becoming movable again (but supposedly working on something) and then becoming unresponsive. I ended up having to forcefully close Eclipse. When I restarted it, I checked for the AVD and although what I tried to create was there, the program told me (with its red X) that this AVD failed to load. Clicking on its details it told me it "Failed to parse properties from..." etc.

Trying to figure out how to open the My First App project I also found out I didn't know how to (that's all me being far away from programming or anything related to it for at least the past 10 years) and I ended up trying to recreate it. Of course Eclipse told me I couldn't because a project with that name already existed and then I searched and deleted everything that had to do (=had the same name) with the tutorial project; "My First App". After doing that I think I deleted something I shouldn't have, something probably related to the tutorial and not the entire program thankfully.

Anyway, I still can't create an AVD... I tried some things I found online, like sharing the .android folder with everyone using the laptop but nothing happened. The AVD Manager responds with the exact same way as before; hangs, I have to force the program to close and then I can't test the application (which I cannot reopen as a project on Eclipse to begin with...).


tl;dr

Bear with me cause I haven't written a single line of code in 10 years.

1) I don't know why I can't create an AVD without making the Eclipse become unresponsive and then need a program restart
2) I can't seem to find a way to open the projects I created a while ago (do I import or open or what? and where?)
3) As I tried to test a project on my cell phone, Eclipse didn't seem to understand I have an HTC One X connected to my laptop (USB - Google USB drive is installed)
4) Is this the ghost of My First App haunting me?
Could not write metadata for '/My First App'.
C:\Users\Yannis\workspace\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.core.resources\.projects\My First App\.markers.snap (The system cannot find the path specified)


Can anyone help? Much appreciated!

 

[Kostas G]

1) First try to create an AVD outside of Eclipse. Read the documentation. You can use the AVD Manager UI or ever a command-line interface.
2) A created project should always re-appear after you close and re-open Eclipse. In your case, the problem is caused probably by the force-closing. Try to close Eclipse properly (do not try creating an AVD). An existing project can be brought back by selecting "Import" and then "Import existing projects into workspace".
3) Follow the instructions on the documentation. Again test the connection outside of Eclipse.
4) This is all strange behaviour. Try running Eclipse as an administrator to see if it helps. Also, make sure you have the most recent version of everything (SDK, ADT). Which version of Eclipse are you using?

Do not use the latest version of Eclipse (Juno). Read here for details.

 

[Gullinbursti]

Hey there Kosta,

I have already read most of the documentation available at developer.android.com. The thing is, even with the documentation right in front of me, the AVD still hangs (window says (Not Responding)) and then I have to close the program forcefully. Wooooow.... wait a minute, I just clicked on it a million times out of frastration and the darn thing went all white (how Microsoft chose to represent windows that become unresponsive) and then the window was gone and the AVD had a green tick right next to it... That's strange...

Are there any problems with Windows 7 and AVD I should know of?

Thank you very much for your reply, I am right now downloading some other versions of Eclipse to make sure.

 

[jonbonazza]

The documentation on developer.android.com is somewhat old. Once the ADT are installed, you should manually set your SDK location by going to Window > Preferences and then clicking the Android tab. There should be a text box that you can browse to your SDK's root folder.

 

[Kostas G]

I am not aware of any problems with Windows 7 and AVD. That is my development environment and is working fine. Perhaps something went wrong with your installation? If nothing else helps, try a clean install. Remove everything and re-install. Select the default install location.