Do i need to install the Android SDK before installing Eclipse?
Or must i install Eclipse before installing the Android SDK?
i'm worried that one has knowledge of the other, the order of installs is important, and installing the two out of order could lead to problems.
Does the Android SDK installer know about Eclipse, and registers itself with Eclipse?
The order you install them in is not important. Once you install Eclipse you will have to install ADT (Android Development Tools) and specify the path to the SDK in the ADT configuration (inside Eclipse).
As said, it is not important, you can even play around with the emulator without ever installing eclipse, and you can use other editors as well (however this is more difficult) - read more about the installation here http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html