Where to find a not so beginners guide to creating custom roms - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys,
I'm currently a university student with some decent Java skills, I want to start some android rom development mostly for the Nexus 7 2013 but I'm not sure where to start. I have googled and all I have found are guides on using kitchens, I'm looking for something more advanced, where I could learn to create a rom like SmoothRom for the Nexus 7 2012 with performance tweaks to make it super smooth and stable.
Any help would be apreciated. Sorry if there is an answer to this somewhere, like I said so far I've only found kitchens and I don't think that's the type of development I need to be doing.
Thanks

Http://source.android.com

Try building cyanogen mod first
GO TO THIS SITE
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Devices#vendor="Google";
THIS SITE OFFERS YOU TO BUILD ROM FOR YOUR DEVICES AS WELL AS OTHER DEVICES

Thanks, will try building some source code first

Also could someone maybe provide some info on where to learn about implementing linaro and what it is? It sounds very interesting but not much info on it.

Related

[REF] For The Beginner Chef

I am by no means a chef, I have simply been sourcing all of the info I can find to create my own custom ROM, during that time I have found a multitude of posts from people like myself asking for help or information on building our own android roms.
I am not going to waffle about stuff I dont know much about but simply post links for you to read and learn from for yourself, enjoy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=906161
How to run custom roms in Android emulator written by Perceval from Hyrule, this is a cracking guide. I was very stuck with this bit until I found this.
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Get The SDK
http://source.android.com/porting/customization.html#androidThemes
A simple resource on customising Android
http://www.eclipse.org/
Eclipse Development Environment.
http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html
Android Development Tools for Eclipse
http://code.google.com/p/smali/wiki/DeodexInstructions
How to Deodex a rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=760805
Change your LCD Density on any build, credits to jdsemler
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=697938
A cracking resource found on these forums and written by Decad3nce
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
Cyanogenmod Wiki on Themeing HTC devices.
http://www.satyakomatineni.com/akc/display?url=displaynoteimpurl&ownerUserId=satya&reportId=3279
A fantastic resource about .apk's
http://developer.htc.com/
Guess
http://android.modaco.com/content/z...quick-guide-to-modifying-build-prop-with-adb/
Useful guide on the build.prop file.
http://elinux.org/Android_Glossary
Well..a glossary : )
http://droidpirate.com/2010/08/21/development-everything-for-making-android-themes/
A cool resource for theming.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=891604
Custom frameworks written by sopL87
http://droidpirate.com/
Get your goodies here, themes, docks, notification bars and icons.
http://www.jbthemes.com/AndroidThemeingGuide/The Ultimate Android Themeing Guide.pdf
The Ultimate Android Themeing Guide by various.
http://droidpirate.com/links/
Link to more links.
http://gitorious.org/search?q=android
Gitorious Android Search, link to several android projects.
I hope that anybody looking for info on developing there own custom ROM finds this post useful and I look forward to seeing some interesting new builds from people like myself.
Regards.
(All credits to the respective writers)
daz1uk said:
I am by no means a chef, I have simply been sourcing all of the info I can find to create my own custom ROM, during that time I have found a multitude of posts from people like myself asking for help or information on building our own android roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good on you for putting this together!
Great work, I'm sure this will save myself and many other a lot of time

Build own Custom-Rom

Hello XDA-Developers,
I'm 16 Years old an I'm from Germany so please excuse my Gramma mistakes etc.
After the release of Jelly Bean there ist only one thing in my Head: learn how to develop
my own custom rom based on Jelly Bean for a Device which havent got get an update
till now.
It would be nice if someone give me advice how to start developing my own Rom. It would be
nice to know how I can start developing an how I can insert WiFi or Graphic Drivers from an older
(official) Rom to my own Rom.
I'll be happy if you can give my some advice for getting started to be a real XDA-Developer.
Greetings from Germany,
Sascha
Find a book on Linux Kernel/device driver development and read it. Build your kernel, make some modifications. Find a device similar to yours and start porting. We can't give you a step by step or do stuff for you. If you have a question about a specific item, error, feature, or bug then ask about it, but we can't do much with these "how do I start developing" questions. Just read kid that's all I can say.
I highly recommend following this guide and building the "hello world" app. If it doesn't work properly the first time, start from scratch and rewrite it again and again until it works. That's what I did and it really helps you gain a basic understanding of XML and java.
http://developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/index.html
Check out some of the various guides on this website as well. I highly recommend reading the "introduction to edify language" which is used for coding updater scripts. I had problems at first with the updater script and I had to decompile other roms and check out their updater scripts in order to gain a proper understanding.
http://www.freeyourandroid.com/index.php
This is also a good guide to check out, it's about building your first app as well but significantly more detailed than googles guide. I haven't read the whole thing myself yet but am in the process of doing so. It's good to have an understanding of how to code apps as well since it helps you understand XML and java which is also needed for ROM development, and makes it easier in general to get a grasp of various coding languages.
http://www.vogella.com/articles/Android/article.html
Also decompile some apps/tweaks/roms for your particular device and check out the code. For example I compared the stock rom for my phone to an AOSP build of ICS just to check out the different code and study it. It's very interesting and a good way to learn. PM other devs in your devices forums if you have questions or get stuck somewhere, that's exactly what I did and the devs were very helpful.
Good luck learning and have fun!

Attempting to start developing

Im going to try and start to develop for the Rezound. Iv decided that I would to take on JB head on, i know its very unlikely that I will make a stable JB rom but i want to try at least, I have the SDK and jb source already i just dont know where to start with JB, if anyone could help that would be great thanks.
I think Joel has JB booting.
The best place to start is modifying other ROMs with the android kitchen. Gives you a feel for how things work.
GrayTheWolf said:
I think Joel has JB booting.
The best place to start is modifying other ROMs with the android kitchen. Gives you a feel for how things work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. jonman www.github.com/JB1tz
I knew it was jo-something.
Good luck! Glad to see you're getting your feet wet.
Looking forward to your JB ROMs in the near future.
The Beeb
Building from source is a lot different than building a kitchen ROM but as Wolf said you might want to start there to at least learn a few things and the program is pretty easy to learn. The kitchen requires a functioning ROM to build from so not sure you could do JB. The AOSP website has a lot of information about building from source but you'll find the directions they give are for building for the nexus devices. AOSP is strictly for Linux or MAC (maybe windows under a virtual machine) and is pretty straight forward for getting it setup, I used Ubuntu 12 but getting a Linux box setup is as far as I took it as I got bored of it all. One of the devs here should have a github repository for JB and maybe you can join in on that or find some instructions on how to use the JB source you have to build for the Rezound. I would contact wildstang83 he's a pretty friendly guy who likes to help. Also get on IRC and start asking questions.
AOSP for setting up a build environment:
http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Android Kitchen:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246
kzoodroid said:
Building from source is a lot different than building a kitchen ROM but as Wolf said you might want to start there to at least learn a few things and the program is pretty easy to learn. The kitchen requires a functioning ROM to build from so not sure you could do JB. The AOSP website has a lot of information about building from source but you'll find the directions they give are for building for the nexus devices. AOSP is strictly for Linux or MAC (maybe windows under a virtual machine) and is pretty straight forward for getting it setup, I used Ubuntu 12 but getting a Linux box setup is as far as I took it as I got bored of it all. One of the devs here should have a github repository for JB and maybe you can join in on that or find some instructions on how to use the JB source you have to build for the Rezound. I would contact wildstang83 he's a pretty friendly guy who likes to help. Also get on IRC and start asking questions.
AOSP for setting up a build environment:
http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
Android Kitchen:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the info, I have linux mint and as far as i can tell everything is set up
gearlo said:
Thanks for all the info, I have linux mint and as far as i can tell everything is set up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you're pretty much at were I left off setting up my linux box. I was going to try building for the GTab 7+ and there is a github repository for it for CM9 and CM10. Was just starting to learn how to connect to it when I lost interest. There is supposed to be some type of tutorial on the github site but I couldn't find it. I am also not sure if you need eclipse installed or not to use it. This is where you would need the help of a dev or someone else who's set up a linux box. I also didn't see a github for JB for the rezound but I also didn't look all that well just did a quick search.
wildstang, joel, newtoroot, nilsp I know build from source, or at least they did for the incredible, so they would be good sources of information and I know they've helped others in the past so don't mind pm's.
https://github.com/
Here's a tutorial I found on building from source might be some useful info there:
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/compiling-from-source-the-easy-way/
Here's a tutorial for AOKP:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1810297
Maybe antp or wolf would help you setup too as I noticed their posts in the AOKP build forum?

[Q] Road to developing?

Hey guys,
so this is applicable to all devices and its android specific therefore I think this is the best place to ask these question/s. I learned coding with Python for a few months last year and really enjoyed it. Now I am thinking since I have an android phone that is claimed by most "unbrickable" and I am probably stuck with it for another year I decided to learn android programming and contribute to this awesome community and hopefully make my phone awesome myself. Before I can do all that I have a few questions. Most of the development guides I saw after google searching, referred to how to create apps ( now I know there are guides to creating roms here). If I learn with those guides how to make apps will it be a similar process when I wan't to make custom roms? Also how to start? Start with Java SDK, with eclipse? Point to some guides plox
early thanks
There are guides for building apps... and guides for building ROMs... but AFAIK, guides for customising ROMs don't really exist... ROM customisations are generally just done following the API or using someone's work as a reference point....
craigacgomez said:
There are guides for building apps... and guides for building ROMs... but AFAIK, guides for customising ROMs don't really exist... ROM customisations are generally just done following the API or using someone's work as a reference point....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I worded that wrong. I know there are guides for building apps and building roms but I was asking If I use one of those guides to build app + learn to build app using a book or something will it help me build roms later? And for the custom rom thing, I meant like theres hellfire ics cm9 then theres eaglesblood ics cm9 for same device but by different people so I when I said custom rom I mean like my own ics cm9. but anyway thanks for your answer.
First and last bump
Making ROM's is different then making apps, while the skills you learn using Eclipse and Java JDK will only teach you Java, XML and ADB at most, when making ROM's you need to know many different things. While you can make custom ROM's with little programming experience to be a true master of making custom ROM's you need to know Java and XML, for modifying and creating your own custom apps you can include in your ROM, C and C++ for tweaking the kernel to truly optimize performance, Shell for creating scripts to automate tasks and performing other functions in your ROM, Photoshop/GIMP for image editing and creation in order to customize the look of your ROM, as well as patience to debug any problems you may run into and a couple other skills as well.
If you want to learn how to compile CM9 check out these guides:
[TUTORIAL]Setting up and compiling CM9/CM10 from source
Galaxy Nexus (GSM): Compile CyanogenMod 9 (Linux) It's for the Galaxy Nexus but it's still a very good place to start with to learn how to compile CM9 from source.
For learning basic customization of ROM's check out these great videos:
Let me know if you still have questions .
shimp208 said:
Making ROM's is different then making apps, while the skills you learn using Eclipse and Java JDK will only teach you Java, XML and ADB at most, when making ROM's you need to know many different things. While you can make custom ROM's with little programming experience to be a true master of making custom ROM's you need to know Java and XML, for modifying and creating your own custom apps you can include in your ROM, C and C++ for tweaking the kernel to truly optimize performance, Shell for creating scripts to automate tasks and performing other functions in your ROM, Photoshop/GIMP for image editing and creation in order to customize the look of your ROM, as well as patience to debug any problems you may run into and a couple other skills as well.
Okay that makes sense. So if I learn to make apps since thats what most guides are, I will learn to work with JDK and XML but creating ROMs requires much more knowledge. I am okay with just being able to compile source codes/porting roms from similar devices and what not. I am pretty decent with Photoshop so thats a win Thank you sir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Q: How to build the custom rom from scratch for joyeuse?

Hi folks,
I have a question. For many years I have been using many custom roms for many android devices (sony, samsung, xiaomi, motorola... with cyanogenmod, lineageos, aospextended, havocos etc etc...). I am the guy who likes tesing any of custom roms which appear in the forums.
For a long time I had a question in my mind: "How the hack the people prepare and build these custom roms, I want to be not only the user, but want to have the skills to build it my own"
Now I have joyeuse and I would like to try to build some custom rom by myself. Do you have any hints, tips, tutorials or howtos, where should I start with learning?
Thanks in advance
Have not done it myself.
But there are many tutorials on xda on how to setup your build environment.
Search on words combinations like: guide, build, compile, ubuntu, windows, ...
Or have a look into the different forum groups.
example:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/guide-build-port-miui-rom-to-device-t3250984
...
success!
thanks, but this is kinda outdated
Thanks for help, but I see this is 5 years old tutorial, so many changes have changed on android / miui design
Of course I googled it but not found anything pretty new and explanatory...w
kheno said:
Have not done it myself.
But there are many tutorials on xda on how to setup your build environment.
Search on words combinations like: guide, build, compile, ubuntu, windows, ...
Or have a look into the different forum groups.
example:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/guide-build-port-miui-rom-to-device-t3250984
...
success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jackup.pavlicek said:
Thanks for help, but I see this is 5 years old tutorial, so many changes have changed on android / miui design
Of course I googled it but not found anything pretty new and explanatory...w
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i made a guide years ago. the overall process hasnt really changed just device specific files for the roms
https://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/general/guide-how-to-compile-roms-zenfone-2-t3205312
so you'd ignore anything of the sources i linked for the zenfone and instead replace them with our devices sources. because we are so early on and things keep changing id suggest waiting till we have a proper recovery and are able to build from lineage from scratch.
also small differences in build dependencies like using the latest version of java and what not

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