Writing Samples

Installing phoneGap for Android

General Procedure to install development tools and phoneGap for Android on Windows.
Installation is covered for:

• Apache Ant
• Java JDK
• Android SDK
• phoneGap Apache Cordova

APACHE ANT

1. Create a folder called ANT under C:\Program Files\.
2. Download the latest version of Apache Ant and extract all files into the ANT folder. Example: C:\Program Files\ANT\apache-ant-1.9.4
3. Set the ANT_HOME variable path:
   • From the Start Menu > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables > System variable section, select New
   • For the Variable name enter ANT_HOME, for the Variable value enter C:\Program Files\ANT\apache-ant-1.9.4 (Making sure to use the correct apache-ant version.), then OK.
   • Still in the System variables section, select the Path variable, and the Edit button.
   • Path will already be populated for the Variable Name, at the end of the Path Variable value add the %ANT_HOME% variable and point to the bin directory: Example: ...;%ANT_HOME%\bin; then OK, OK, OK closing the System Properties dialog box.

JAVA JDK

1. Create a folder called Java under C:\Program Files\.
2. Download the installer executable file for the latest version of Java SE for your operating system. Example: For Windows x64/jdk-8u5-windows-x64.exe.
3. Run the installer file, install to the default directory, which will be the C:\Program Files\Java folder. Example: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_05
4. Set the JAVA_HOME variable path:
   • From the Start Menu > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables > System variable section, select New
   • For the Variable name enter JAVA_HOME, for the Variable value enter C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_05 (Making sure to use the correct jdk version.), then OK.
   • Still in the System variables section, select the Path variable, and the Edit button.
   • Path will already be populated for the Variable Name, at the end of the Path Variable value add the %JAVA_HOME% variable and point to the bin directory: Example: ...;%JAVA_HOME%\bin; then OK, OK, OK closing the System Properties dialog box.

Android SDK

1. Create a folder called Android under C:\Program Files\.
2. Download the latest version of Android SDK for your operating system and extract all files into the Android folder. Example: C:\Program Files\Android\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140702
3. From the C:\Program Files\Android\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140702/eclipse directory launch eclipse with the executable file eclipse.exe.
4. When eclipse opens you will be prompted to open the SDK Manager to add additional SDK packages, open and select:
   Tools folder:
   • Android SDK Tools
   • Android SDK Platform-tools
   • Android SDK Build-tools
   Latest Android Version folder:
   • SDK Platform
   • ARM EABI v7a System Image
   Extras folder:
   • Android Support Library
   Select the Install X packages button, accept the license, and Install.
5. In eclipse, run Help > Check for Updates to update plug-ins.
6. Set the ANDROID_HOME variable path:
   • From the Start Menu > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables > System variable section, select New
   • For the Variable name enter ANDROID_HOME, for the Variable value enter C:\Program Files\Android\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140702 (Making sure to use the correct adt version.), then OK.
   • Still in the System variables section, select the Path variable, and the Edit button.
   • Path will already be populated for the Variable Name, at the end of the Path Variable value add the %ANDROID_HOME% variable and point to the platform-tools and tools directories: Example: ...;%ANDROID_HOME%\platform-tools; and ...;%ANDROID_HOME%\tools; then OK, OK, OK closing the System Properties dialog box.

phoneGap Apache Cordova

1. Create a folder called nodejs under C:\Program Files\.
2. Go to: Apache Cordova and select the link for Command-Line Interface
3. Download and install Node.js into the nodejs folder.
4. Open a Command Prompt window. From the Start Menu > in the Search Programs and Files field enter cmd.
5. In the Command Prompt Window, install the Cordova module using the npm utility, type at the prompt: C:\> npm install -g cordova To verify installation, enter cordova on the command line, if successfully installed it will return cordova help and command options.
6. Create the project. Note: Cordova is the open source version of phoneGap. Cordova and phoneGap commands in most cases can be used interchangeably. A package type naming structure is used when creating the project folders and sub-folders. Run phonegap create directory com.subdomain.projectname ProjectTitle on the command line. Where directory specifies the name of the project directory that will be created, com.subdomain.projectname is the reverse domain-style naming convention that will be picked up by the config.xml and Java packages, and ProjectTitle is the display title of the project. The message [phonegap] created project at directory will be returned when successfully created. The project folder will contain the following sub-folders:
   • .cordova
   • hooks
   • merges
   • platforms
   • plugins
   • www