I have searched a number of ways for a definitive set of steps to install Linux applications, fix apt-get dependencies, and create icons for those newly installed applications in Webtop on my Atrix 4G. I have installed Debian Linux and Xterm on my Webtop, and have successfully used the VI commands to unhook the new 4.0.1 version of Firefox, but my success ends here.
What I have found in my searching is piecemeal, version specific, or so highly specialized that a Linux noob like me has no chance of pulling together a successful install. I would like to install Gimp, OpenOffice, and maybe even a desktop application (like Gnome), and am having an appreciable amount of difficulty closing the circle.
I would be happy to buy a cup of coffee for someone who can put together a sequential list of steps (preferably with the actual Linux commands) that can be adapted to accomplish this. Thank you!
Sent from my Atrix 4G running Homebase 5.2 with Fauxs enhanced stock Kernel
I'm definately no Linux Guru, but This is what I did to install openoffice on my webtop. (assuming you followed the steps to fix the repo listed in the Webtop2SD post)
sudo apt-get install openoffice.org
and that was it....now running it nearly every day with no problems, good luck.
I installed Synaptic. It's a package manager. Just select the package you want to install and it does it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1279724&highlight=synaptic
If the Synaptic install errors, it should suggest what to run to fix it.
use backports
Use pdmenu (the penguin) to open a shell, bash will do nicely and type "apt-get install synaptic" as suggested by robrj. Then do a search for backports and libreoffice. That should help you get started. Remember, this is just Debian squeeze and the Debian support groups have the answers you need until you jump back into android or webtop mods.
I have managed to compile (from source) and install CM7.2 on my HTC dream, but my questions below are related to Android:
1. Is there a way to find out which packages (.apk) were installed on my system and if so, how do I do that?
2. Is there a way to find out each package dependencies (I need to figure out this as I am bent on removing the vast amount of guff installed on the phone - I won't need 90% of this stuff)?
3. Similarly to 2 above - is there a way to look at dependencies of a package not yet installed on my system (i.e. the .apk file)?
4. How do I actually remove a package for good from the system?
5. Similarly to 3 above, how do I actually install a package from within the root system - I know I can do this via adb, but is there a way to do this inside the, say, command line terminal?
6. Is there a way to alter (understand remove) certain program permissions which I could see "granted" to a particular program/package? I know there are various ways to look at these, but I wish to remove permissions I am not happy being granted to that particular program/package.
And one last a bit more advanced query: I would like to build a single package from the source tree and then install the resulting .apk file on my system.
Basically, I will try to upgrade a package with a new revision and add a few patches to the package source of my own before compiling it and building it again.
I usually build the whole lot (all packages + the rootfs image itself) with "mke bacon", but if I want to alter the source and build a single package how do I do that?
I am not very familiar with the Android make system, so I don't want to go heads-first into something and make a real mess of it.
Thanks a lot for any assistance given.
Im writing a Network Scanner currently in Python/Kivy for Android. I could do everything i wanted if i could execute a Python module called Scapy from the shell(Obviously this is a rooted app), but unfortunately its not possible. Atleast not with alot of work and when the App is finished i dont want my users to have to go through installing countless dependencies to get it working!
I've stumbled along a little unix program called Arp-Scan but i cant find a port for Android. I'm not sure how to port this to Android so i can execute it from a shell.
I have no experience with compiling and needless to say this is frustrating the hell out of me! . This one little stumbling block has been plaguing me for 2 weeks. The rest i will be able to do in pure Python, namely PortScanning and such.
The way the Android OS works is that an APK is unable to use raw sockets. But you are allowed to run a shell as root.
I have the option to use Nmap but if there was ever to be a paid version of my app i would have to buy a license and i simply cant afford it.
All i need is to execute a program from shell: like Arp-Scan to obtain an IP and MAC from the LAN.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hello,
I'm willing to try and build a custom rom, but I've been diving through the site for a few days and I still don't get it. I believe I do have the required background to do this: programming, linux, etc. and I have wide experience as a phone user, etc. It's just that either I'm not reading what I need or the way I want it. The problem, I believe, is that all I find are guides telling me to install this and those tools and then open this and that and voila! you got your rom. But they're not explaining WHAT exactly goes into those roms, or what is expected to go there, what's the purpose of those contents, etc., and I can't really catch with that. I feel at a loss and hate wasting my time turning around for nothing.
1. I don't understand the difference between a flashable rom and one that is meant to be installed through recovery, although I can see they're different. Do they both models contain the same kind of data? Is there any restriction to what one model can contain over the other one? If so, how would I convert from one to the other? But please, don't tell me to use this or that tool. I just need the theory behind it. Something of sorts like: "You need to extract this or that from this tarball, then mount this image, then the directory tree there goes in that directory over the other model of rom"
2. update-binary: Okay I guess this is run when installing from recovery, and this takes care of installing the rom, right?wrong?. Is this a per-rom thing, per-device thing? generic? If it's per-rom, how to generate it? do I need to compile something? Is there any generic source code that can be used as a start?
3. Although I have a basic understanding of how the Linux directory tree works, I know Android works on top of a heavily modified Linux. So can you explain briefly how the directory tree works? For instance, I believe /data/data is where Android apps install to, in /system/bin or xbin I can find busybox binaries/symlinks if present. /dev and /proc look the same as in Linux. I don't know about /sys. Also how are both rom models deployed to this tree? What is basically being copied?
4. If I were to compile a kernel, where do I find the Android kernel sources? or is it just a generic Linux kernel? where can i get a basic config for the device? Last time I checked my device hadn't /proc/config.gz but maybe I could get it from another rom with it enabled or something. What toolchain and where to get it? Oh and if you know of a native arm version of gcc or whatsnot, I'd prefer that. Setting up IDEs or toolchains is a nightmare. I don't like crosscompiling. But crosscompiling or not, a directory with all needed binaries without needing to set up system variables nor other stuff, would be amazing.
I surely have a lot more questions that I can't get from the back of my mind now, and I'll have yet more as you explain. But the point of my questions was mainly trying to explain the degree of the loss I'm at, so you can assist me better.
If it looks like a foolish petition, well, that's because I'm quite stubborn and can't catch things that don't go my way. I really need to understand the basics before I can move into actually doing something. I want to build a rom for the right reasons(to me). It's not just about packing a set of apps or themes with it, but about learning and doing other stuff like trying to fix things that are not supposed to work for the device in that Android version, etc.
If you can't help, congrats for reading through here anyways But any help is greatly appreciated :good:
oxiroxt said:
Hello,
I'm willing to try and build a custom rom, but I've been diving through the site for a few days and I still don't get it. I believe I do have the required background to do this: programming, linux, etc. and I have wide experience as a phone user, etc. It's just that either I'm not reading what I need or the way I want it. The problem, I believe, is that all I find are guides telling me to install this and those tools and then open this and that and voila! you got your rom. But they're not explaining WHAT exactly goes into those roms, or what is expected to go there, what's the purpose of those contents, etc., and I can't really catch with that. I feel at a loss and hate wasting my time turning around for nothing.
1. I don't understand the difference between a flashable rom and one that is meant to be installed through recovery, although I can see they're different. Do they both models contain the same kind of data? Is there any restriction to what one model can contain over the other one? If so, how would I convert from one to the other? But please, don't tell me to use this or that tool. I just need the theory behind it. Something of sorts like: "You need to extract this or that from this tarball, then mount this image, then the directory tree there goes in that directory over the other model of rom"
2. update-binary: Okay I guess this is run when installing from recovery, and this takes care of installing the rom, right?wrong?. Is this a per-rom thing, per-device thing? generic? If it's per-rom, how to generate it? do I need to compile something? Is there any generic source code that can be used as a start?
3. Although I have a basic understanding of how the Linux directory tree works, I know Android works on top of a heavily modified Linux. So can you explain briefly how the directory tree works? For instance, I believe /data/data is where Android apps install to, in /system/bin or xbin I can find busybox binaries/symlinks if present. /dev and /proc look the same as in Linux. I don't know about /sys. Also how are both rom models deployed to this tree? What is basically being copied?
4. If I were to compile a kernel, where do I find the Android kernel sources? or is it just a generic Linux kernel? where can i get a basic config for the device? Last time I checked my device hadn't /proc/config.gz but maybe I could get it from another rom with it enabled or something. What toolchain and where to get it? Oh and if you know of a native arm version of gcc or whatsnot, I'd prefer that. Setting up IDEs or toolchains is a nightmare. I don't like crosscompiling. But crosscompiling or not, a directory with all needed binaries without needing to set up system variables nor other stuff, would be amazing.
I surely have a lot more questions that I can't get from the back of my mind now, and I'll have yet more as you explain. But the point of my questions was mainly trying to explain the degree of the loss I'm at, so you can assist me better.
If it looks like a foolish petition, well, that's because I'm quite stubborn and can't catch things that don't go my way. I really need to understand the basics before I can move into actually doing something. I want to build a rom for the right reasons(to me). It's not just about packing a set of apps or themes with it, but about learning and doing other stuff like trying to fix things that are not supposed to work for the device in that Android version, etc.
If you can't help, congrats for reading through here anyways But any help is greatly appreciated :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not terribly knowledgeable about all of this, but I will take a crack at it. Others can feel free to correct me.
1. "Flashing" is usually done through the recovery from a zip with an update script inside. That script is in a language called "edify". Read more about Edify Here and Here.
The only other common way that I know of installing a ROM is through fastboot in the bootloader, but that is normally only used with official factory images. Also, I think Samsung ROMs are often flashed with a proprietary program called Odin.
2. I think that the update-binary is standard across all recent devices. I think it is just an interpreter for the Edify scripting language. Old versions of android used a somewhat different scripting language and required a different file. You can probably pull the binary out of another recent zip and use that. The main thing you have to worry about is the update script (instructions for what the zip does) and the folder structure of the zip.
3. I am not confident to explain much here, but the apps and their data are stored in different places. User apps are stored in /data/app with app data stored in /data/data, I think. System apps are installed in /system/app. There is more files stored on the "sdcard" partition which can be internal or external, depending on the device.
4. Kernel sources are usually provided in the source code from whatever repo you are using. Different ROMs use different bases. Here is some info about grabbing the AOSP kernel sources with git: http://source.android.com/source/building-kernels.html
Many of the more popular ROMS have specific build instructions on their individual github pages (Cyanogen, Paranoid Android, etc), so you might what to look at those, too. Also, depending on the individual devices, there might be proprietary binaries sourced from the device or hardware manufacturers for things like camera drivers, graphics chips, etc.
If you want a walk through of the basic build process google has a tutorial. The last time I checked there seemed to be some outdated info, but it might give you a general idea of the build process. http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can give you more info, but that is all I got
synesthete said:
I am not terribly knowledgeable about all of this, but I will take a crack at it. Others can feel free to correct me.
1. "Flashing" is usually done through the recovery from a zip with an update script inside. That script is in a language called "edify". Read more about Edify Here and Here.
The only other common way that I know of installing a ROM is through fastboot in the bootloader, but that is normally only used with official factory images. Also, I think Samsung ROMs are often flashed with a proprietary program called Odin.
2. I think that the update-binary is standard across all recent devices. I think it is just an interpreter for the Edify scripting language. Old versions of android used a somewhat different scripting language and required a different file. You can probably pull the binary out of another recent zip and use that. The main thing you have to worry about is the update script (instructions for what the zip does) and the folder structure of the zip.
3. I am not confident to explain much here, but the apps and their data are stored in different places. User apps are stored in /data/app with app data stored in /data/data, I think. System apps are installed in /system/app. There is more files stored on the "sdcard" partition which can be internal or external, depending on the device.
4. Kernel sources are usually provided in the source code from whatever repo you are using. Different ROMs use different bases. Here is some info about grabbing the AOSP kernel sources with git: http://source.android.com/source/building-kernels.html
Many of the more popular ROMS have specific build instructions on their individual github pages (Cyanogen, Paranoid Android, etc), so you might what to look at those, too. Also, depending on the individual devices, there might be proprietary binaries sourced from the device or hardware manufacturers for things like camera drivers, graphics chips, etc.
If you want a walk through of the basic build process google has a tutorial. The last time I checked there seemed to be some outdated info, but it might give you a general idea of the build process. http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can give you more info, but that is all I got
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG Finally some light! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the info. I didn't get much right now, I'll need to read through your post a few times before I get it all, haha. I'll be sure to check the links too. Thank you!
Hello,
I was just wondering, how would I go about adding several binaries to a busybox installation.
For ex: I would like to add "exa" to use instead of ls, "fd" in replacement for find, the text editor "micro", as well as possibly git (although I would guess that adding too many additional binaries would make busybox too dense)
I know a good deal about android development, c programming, and shell scripting, so I don't by any means expect someone to "do" this for me or recompile it for me. Just the steps necessary (if it's possible to do this effectively), or an alternative solution in which would accomplish this objective.
Currently I have a (working) solution using termux boot, that copies the files to "/system/xbin" on boot. It works fine... however I can't help but feel like this is not the best way to go about it.
If it matters: I am on a Google Pixel, rooted, on a custom rom (resurrection remix, android oreo build) with TWRP recovery installed.
Thanks,
HLTDev