In the Properties section, type Hello Android in the Application Name box.

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Chapter 3: Your First Android Project

The gen folder is automatically generated by Eclipse and the ADT when the compilation takes place. As soon as the New Android Project wizard was completed, a new project was created and saved in Eclipse’s work- space. Eclipse recognized this fact and said, “Hey I see some new files in my workspace. I need to report any errors I find as well as compile the proj- ect.” Eclipse reported the errors by placing an error icon over the folder. Immediately thereafter, the compilation step took place. During the compila- tion step, the gen folder was created by Eclipse, and the project was success- fully built. Then Eclipse recognized that the project did not have any more errors. At that time, it removed the error icon from the folder, leaving you with a clean workspace and a clean folder icon, as shown in Figure 3-8. Figure 3-8: A project in the Package Explorer that has no errors. Notice the folder icon; it has no error icon overlay on it. A project without any errors Understanding the Build Target and Min SDK Version settings So how does the Build Target setting differ from the Min SDK Version setting? The build target is the operating system you’re going to write code with. If you choose 2.2, you can write code with all the APIs in version 2.2. If you choose 1.6, you can write code only with the APIs that are in version 1.6. You can’t use the Bluetooth APIs in version 1.6, for example, because they weren’t introduced until version 2.0. If you’re targeting 2.2, you can write with the Bluetooth APIs. Know which version you want to target before you start writing your Android application. Identify which Android features you need to use to ensure that your app will function as you expect. If you’re positive that you’re going to need Bluetooth support, you need to target at least version 2.0. If you’re not sure which versions support the features you’re looking for, you can find that information on the platform-specific pages in the SDK section of http: d.android.com. The Android 2.2 platform page is at http:d.android. comsdkandroid-2.2.html.