The Glass Explorer Edition SDK is deprecated. This documentation remains as a historical reference.
GDK Quick Start
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Before you begin to use the GDK, you need intermediate
or better knowledge in Android development.
This quick start gets your environment set up with the GDK
and shows you how to install your first piece of Glassware.
Check out the pattern guides
for detailed information on how to build Glassware.
For Android experts
If you're comfortable with Android, here's all you need to know:
- Get the Android 4.4.2 (API 19) SDK and Glass Development Kit Preview add-on from the Android SDK Manager.
- On Glass, turn on USB debugging (Settings > Device Info > Turn on debug).
- Import some GDK samples.
- When you're ready to create a project for your own Glassware, use these settings:
- Compile with: Glass Development Kit Developer Preview
- Theme: None (ADT and Android Studio usually assign a theme automatically, even
if you specify no theme, so remove the
android:theme property from your manifest
after creating a project.)
- Head on over to the pattern guides and
developer guides for more learning.
For Android beginners
We recommend starting with the
Building Your First App
training class at the Android developers site and then building a
few simple Android apps before building GDK Glassware.
Setting up the development environment
- We recommend installing
Android Studio
for easier development. The rest of these steps assume you have
this installed.
- Click Configure > SDK Manager.
- Install the SDK Platform and Glass Development Kit Preview
for Android 4.4.2 (API 19). Everything else is optional.
- On Glass, go to Settings > Device Info > Turn on debug to
enable
adb, which allows your development system to communicate
with Glass.
- Connect Glass to your development system and tap on the touchpad
to authorize debug access.
Importing samples
To help get you started, GDK sample projects are available on our
GitHub repository:
- ApiDemo:
Gallery of some GDK APIs usage.
- Compass: Simple
compass using a
LiveCard.
- Stopwatch:
Simple stopwatch using a
LiveCard.
- Timer: Simple
timer using a combination of
Immersion and LiveCard.
To import one of the samples into Android Studio:
- Click Check out from Version Control > Git.
- Use one of the samples' clone URL in the Vcs Repository URL
field (example:
https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-apidemo-sample.git).
- Click OK on the following two screens.
- Build the project and run it on your connected Glass by clicking on
the Play button. Make sure to check the sample's
README for
invocation details.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2024-07-10 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2024-07-10 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers need intermediate or better Android development knowledge to use the Glass Development Kit (GDK).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis guide helps set up the GDK environment, install Glassware, and provides resources for beginners and experts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eExperts can quickly get started by installing the Android 4.4.2 SDK, Glass Development Kit Preview, and importing samples.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBeginners are encouraged to first build basic Android apps using the provided training resources.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSample projects demonstrating GDK APIs are available on GitHub for developers to explore and learn from.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Before you begin to use the GDK, you need intermediate\nor better knowledge in Android development.\n\nThis quick start gets your environment set up with the GDK\nand shows you how to install your first piece of Glassware.\nCheck out the [pattern guides](/glass/develop/patterns)\nfor detailed information on how to build Glassware.\n\nFor Android experts\n\nIf you're comfortable with Android, here's all you need to know:\n\n1. Get the **Android 4.4.2 (API 19) SDK** and **Glass Development Kit Preview** add-on from the Android SDK Manager.\n2. On Glass, turn on USB debugging (**Settings \\\u003e Device Info \\\u003e Turn on debug**).\n3. Import some [GDK samples](#importing_samples).\n4. When you're ready to create a project for your own Glassware, use these settings:\n - **Compile with: Glass Development Kit Developer Preview**\n - **Theme: None** (ADT and Android Studio usually assign a theme automatically, even if you specify no theme, so remove the `android:theme` property from your manifest after creating a project.)\n5. Head on over to the [pattern guides](/glass/develop/patterns) and [developer guides](/glass/develop/gdk) for more learning.\n\nFor Android beginners\n\nWe recommend starting with the\n[Building Your First App](//developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/index.html)\ntraining class at the [Android developers site](//developer.android.com) and then building a\nfew simple Android apps before building GDK Glassware.\n\nSetting up the development environment\n\n1. We recommend installing [Android Studio](//developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html) for easier development. The rest of these steps assume you have this installed.\n2. Click **Configure \\\u003e SDK Manager**.\n3. Install the **SDK Platform** and **Glass Development Kit Preview** for **Android 4.4.2 (API 19)**. Everything else is optional.\n4. On Glass, go to **Settings \\\u003e Device Info \\\u003e Turn on debug** to enable `adb`, which allows your development system to communicate with Glass.\n5. Connect Glass to your development system and tap on the touchpad to authorize debug access.\n\nImporting samples\n\nTo help get you started, GDK sample projects are available on our\n[GitHub](https://github.com/googleglass) repository:\n\n- [ApiDemo](https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-apidemo-sample): Gallery of some GDK APIs usage.\n- [Compass](https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-compass-sample): Simple compass using a `LiveCard`.\n- [Stopwatch](https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-stopwatch-sample): Simple stopwatch using a `LiveCard`.\n- [Timer](https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-timer-sample): Simple timer using a combination of `Immersion` and `LiveCard`.\n\nTo import one of the samples into Android Studio:\n\n1. Click **Check out from Version Control \\\u003e Git** .\n2. Use one of the samples' clone URL in the **Vcs Repository URL** field (example: `https://github.com/googleglass/gdk-apidemo-sample.git`).\n3. Click **OK** on the following two screens.\n4. Build the project and run it on your connected Glass by clicking on the **Play** button. Make sure to check the sample's `README` for invocation details."]]
