[HOW TO] Setup Android SDK

Before starting the Android Programming you need to install  Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and ADT Eclipse plugins.

Downloading and Setting Android SDK

First you need to download the Android SDK from the official site of Android : Download Android SDK. The SDK contains the developer tools and library required to test, build and run the Android apps. You don't need to download the Eclipse again the ADT (Android Developer Tool) bundle contains the Eclipse, ADT plugins, Android platform tools and system images which are used in emulator.

Once the Download is completed Extract the file in the appropriate location. It's not necessary to install the SDK file you can run it directly.

One more thing you should have installed the Java in your Windows for the further process. You can follow this tutorial to setup the JDK in your computer: How to Setup Java Development Kit (JDK) 

Now the independent IDE for developing the Android apps has been introduced named as Android Studio. For the beginner and other using the ADT bundle is recommended because Android Studio now in early access preview and not fully supporting.

If you want to install and update the Android SDK Tools and Platforms you can run SDK Manager file from the SDK extracted folder.

Starting Eclipse IDE 

Open the folder named eclipse where you will see eclipse.exe. Run the application you will get the Eclipse IDE and can easily start your Android Programming. See:

My First Hello World Program in Android using Eclipse IDE