VisualGDB Android Tools

VisualGDB Android Edition requires the following Android-related tools to be installed:

  1. Java Development kit is required to compile the Java source code (32-bit version!).
  2. Android SDK is required to build the Java code based on Android libraries
  3. Android NDK is required to build the native code in C++
  4. Apache Ant is required to produce the APK files
  5. Intel HAXM is recommended if you want to use the Android simulator

The Eclipse and the ADT plugin are not needed by VisualGDB but can be used in parallel with it to develop and debug the Java code.

Java Development Kit (JDK)

Android SDK heavily depends on Java and won't install until you install the JDK before. The JDK contains the Java Compiler (javac.exe) and a few libraries used by Android SDK. Please download and install the latest 32-bit version of JDK before installing Android SDK.

Android Software Development Kit (SDK)

Android SDK contains various tools for building Android Apps, Java libraries required to build them and also provides the emulator images (virtual Android devices having various versions of Android system installed). The SDK is needed by VisualGDB to build your apps and send them to the device.

Android Native Development Kit (NDK)

Normal Android Apps built with SDK are Java-based. Android NDK allows building native C/C++ libraries and integrating them into the apps, as well as making C++-only apps (e.g. native-activity sample). VisualGDB needs NDK to build your C/C++ code and debug it.

Apache ANT

ANT is a command-line build system for Java apps. It provides command-line interface for building Android Apps (APK files) that is used by VisualGDB.

Intel Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager (HAXM)

Intel HAXM is a service that significantly accelerates the simulation of x86-based Android devices by providing hardware acceleration. The normal Android ARM simulator is usually too slow for comfortable testing and debugging. Intel HAXM makes the simulation considerably faster, however it only works when emulating x86-based devices (not ARM).