Summary

The Android SDK ships with a number of powerful tools to help with common Android development tasks. The Android documentation is an essential reference for developers. The Android emulator can be used for running and debugging Android applications virtually, without the need for an actual device. The DDMS debugging tool, which is integrated into the Eclipse development environment as a perspective, is useful for monitoring emulators and devices. ADB is the powerful command-line tool behind many of the features of DDMS and the ADT plug-in for Eclipse. The Hierarchy Viewer and layoutopt tools can be used to design and optimize your user interface controls, whereas the Nine-Patch tool allows you to create stretchable graphics for use within your apps. There are also a number of other tools to aid developers with different development tasks, from design to development, testing, and publication.