011 how-to: get started on Windows

../_images/fig-l011-built.png

Put the robot’s code on a Windows laptop and build it. After this, every lesson starts in Android Studio with the project open.

Before you start.

  • A Windows laptop, signed in to an account that may install programs.

  • The internet.

  • No robot and no gamepad are needed.

Nothing else has to be installed first. Android Studio fetches Java 17 for the project by itself, and git is installed in L011S040 when Android Studio asks for it.

the steps

H011S010: install Android Studio

The robot’s code is written in Android Studio. The team uses one version of it, Quail 4, so everyone sees the same screens. It is not the newest, so it comes from the page of older versions.

Download.

../_images/fig-l011-archive.png

Install.

  • Open the downloaded file. Click Yes when Windows asks to let it change your device.

  • In Android Studio Setup, click Next on each page, then Install.

  • When it is done, click Next, then Finish.

../_images/fig-l011-setup.png

Check.

  • Android Studio starts and asks to Help improve Android Studio. Click Don’t send.

H011S020: let Android Studio fetch what it needs

The first time it starts, Android Studio’s setup wizard downloads the Android tools the code is built with.

Setup.

  • Click Next on Welcome.

  • Pick Standard and click Next.

  • Click Next on Verify Settings.

  • Click each license on the left, pick Accept, and click Next.

  • Wait while it downloads, then click Finish.

../_images/fig-l011-wizard-standard.png

Check.

  • The last page of the wizard reads Android SDK is up to date. A red line may be under it: SDK emulator directory is missing. That is fine.

  • Welcome to Android Studio opens, with New Project, Open and Clone Repository.

If a note says Rabbit 1 available, leave it. The team stays on Quail 4.

H011S030: install AdvantageScope

AdvantageScope draws what the robot is doing: where it is on the field, and graphs of its numbers.

Download. Open https://github.com/Mechanical-Advantage/AdvantageScope/releases/tag/v26.0.2. Under Assets, click advantagescope-win-x64-v26.0.2.exe.

Install.

  • Edge may say the file isn’t commonly downloaded. Click the three dots by it, then Keep, then Keep anyway.

  • Open the file from your Downloads folder.

  • If you see Windows protected your PC, click More info, then Run anyway. It sets itself up and starts.

../_images/fig-l011-smartscreen.png

Check.

  • AdvantageScope opens on its Line Graph tab, with No data available on the left.

../_images/fig-l011-advantagescope.png

H011S040: get the project

The robot’s code lives on GitHub. Android Studio copies it to the laptop with a tool called git.

Clone.

  • On Welcome to Android Studio, click Clone Repository.

  • Into URL, type https://github.com/msb-stitt/ftc31459-26-27-biobuzz. Leave Directory as it is.

  • The first time, it says Git is not installed. Click Download and Install beside it. Click Yes when Windows asks.

  • When it says Git has been installed, click Clone.

../_images/fig-l011-git.png

Trust. Android Studio asks if you trust the project. A box about Microsoft Defender is ticked. Leave it ticked, and click Trust Project.

../_images/fig-l011-trust.png

Check.

  • The project opens, and the Project window lists FtcRobotController and TeamCode.

H011S050: answer what Android Studio offers

While the project loads, Android Studio reads it with Gradle, the tool that builds the code. This is called a sync. The first sync downloads Java 17 and more, and takes a few minutes.

Answer. Notes pop up in the bottom right while it works. Answer each one like this:

  • Agent Mode now available: click Do not show again. The lessons do not use an AI helper.

  • Project update recommended, Android Gradle plugin version 8.13.2 has an upgrade available: click More, then Don’t ask for this project. The project needs version 8.13.2, so do not upgrade it.

  • Microsoft Defender may affect IDE: click Exclude folders.

  • If Windows asks whether adb can use the network, click Allow.

../_images/fig-l011-offers.png
../_images/fig-l011-agp-more.png

Check.

  • The Build window’s Sync tab has a green tick beside the project.

  • Open File → Settings. Type Gradle in its search box and click Gradle under Build Tools. Under Gradle JVM criteria, Version reads 17.

../_images/fig-l011-gradle-jvm.png

If it didn’t, on a Windows laptop with an ARM chip, and the sync fails with AccessDeniedException while moving the downloaded JDK into .gradle\jdks, stop the Windows service XtaCache as an administrator and sync again with File → Sync Project with Gradle Files.

H011S060: build the code

Build. Click Build → Assemble Project. The first build takes a few minutes.

../_images/fig-l011-build-menu.png

Check.

  • The Build window’s Build Output tab ends with BUILD SUCCESSFUL and 63 actionable tasks: 63 executed.

What you just did. Android Studio is where the code is written, and Gradle turns the code into an app for the robot. Clone copied the team’s repository from GitHub onto the laptop. The sync read the project’s Gradle files and downloaded what they ask for: Gradle 8.14.3, the Android Gradle plugin 8.13.2 and Java 17 among them. Assemble Project built FtcRobotController and TeamCode into TeamCode-debug.apk, the app that is sent to the robot.

Where next. L020 copies the first starter into mytry and reads the gamepad’s sticks.