Can I develop Android apps without an IDE?

Question

Is it possible to develop Android apps using only the Android SDK, without any IDE like Android Studio?

Answer 1

Writing an Android app on Notepad is what I do on my Windows Laptop.

First you configure your laptop as follows:

1. Download development Kits: Download a Java Development Kit 1.6 for Windows and an Android Development Kit . Similarly try downloading older version of Android kit GUI version of Kit Manager so that you can download essentials. Using kit Manager download Android-23 platform build tools. Android Studio may have slower performance, so try to avoid it.

2. Configure Kits: Set Windows PATH variable by right clicking My Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings or change the appropriate settings in your Control Panel. PATH should include the Java's compiler executable file in Java directory, and the android.bat file of Android Kit.

3. Download Build-Tool: (recommended, but Ant can be used too.) These programs configure the command-line tools for easy usage for our convenience. I downloaded version 2.2.1 as it can use old Java & old Android.

I've also written about these instructions on my GitHub Page: https://animeshshrivastav.github.io/