I have spent many years developing applications and device drivers for Windows (short pause while people make grunting noises and snide remarks)... but I recently switched over to developing software for Android. I have begun getting acquainted with the Eclipse IDE for Android app development (I downloaded the ADK bundle), and have also tried to acquaint myself with the process of building an Android ROM (ie: downloading the source and doing a build of the entire Android OS and support software). It seems like people who develop software for Linux are hung on the idea that everything should be done via typing shell commands into the terminal, and because Android is an "off shoot" of Linux, that the core developers of Android do the same (getting the source and building the OS is always described in terms of terminal shell commands).
I much prefer have a graphical UI in which I can just click on menu items and buttons to do the selected build operations. Is there an IDE (some sort of enhanced source code editor or whatever) that I can use to automate "repo" operations and to automate building the Android OS???
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I'm new to Android and have a few question that didn't get answered by Google it. I have bought my first Android phone (SGS2 of course, after years of being a Symbian fanboy), but have not received it yet.
1. Does everything run on top of Dalvik JVM? At the bottom is the Linux kernel. Then there is a Linux process which runs Dalvik VM. Could for instance Sun's JVM run on a Linux process of its own or another Linux application?
2. Can C/C++ Linux program run on Android? Though compiled for ARM. Android has NDK (Native Development Kit) which allows it to run C/C++ applications inside Android applications, but I'm wondering about running C/C++ applications directly on Android. BusyBox is coded in C, but runs on Android. Is it running directly on the kernel's linux process or within an Android application on Dalvik?
3. The latter(Q2) would indicate that not everything run on top of Dalvik. Otherwise C/C++ programs would not run.
4. Android uses ADB (Android Debug Bridge) for its CLI magic. BusyBox uses Ash. Can one install bash as the default shell, with full GNU Core Utilities commands? Some forum posts indicate that it is possible to install an ARM re-compiled bash version.
5. Android can be rooted by installing applications like Super User or BusyBox that would let the user execute applications as root. That would indicate that there exist a root user, in addition to the actual user. Is this similar to how it is on Linux? Can I define a password for the root user so that no applications can run root directly?
6. Are all user data stored in the database SQLite? User data is accessible through different applications, but how does Android determine access rights to it?
7. I have read that Android applications run on their own Linux process and are assigned a unique user ID. Does this mean that we can run ps to see all running processes or does it act like the Sun JVM just showing each VM process? However looks like different applications can run in the same process. Can these be distinguished or do we just the the once process.
8, Is the camera application (that some have made modifications of) a Google app or Samsung app? Just wondering since the former would allow such modified versions to run on other than Samsung phones, but given that different phones have different camera specs I don't see how this could go well.
9. Can the codes typed in the dialer be executed through a shell instead (adb)?
There are some apps that run direct c++ code. The stock gallery app for example is written in c++. So not everything uses that dalvik virtual machine. I don't know enough to answer all your questions though.
Not many replies. That is disappointing.
Perhaps I could move this thread to another forum here on XDA? Or perhaps another forum.
In the meantime I'll try some more Google search on the subjects...
Basically the title..
Im wondering if there is any sort of android IDE app that can create and manage projects? I use my tablet as my primary pc since I no longer have a computer for the time being.
If there isnt an app, I wonder if it would be possible by booting into ubuntu and compiling code there. Although then Id have no way to run the app, would I?
exploitz said:
Basically the title..
Im wondering if there is any sort of android IDE app that can create and manage projects? I use my tablet as my primary pc since I no longer have a computer for the time being.
If there isnt an app, I wonder if it would be possible by booting into ubuntu and compiling code there. Although then Id have no way to run the app, would I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both options work. ...
If you know how to work via a shell, you should have a look at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1340852. It includes everything to get an android application up-and-running on your device from your device itself. It includes the java compiler, dex, signer, ... even vim as a text editor. Very cool.
Ubuntu works also, but is a bit heavier. You will need at least a giga byte of space. But then you can use most of the usual tools. But I didn't find a working SDK for android for the arm version of Ubuntu. So it's mainly useable to create applications that will have to run inside that Ubuntu. It is also possible to use it with a GUI throug VNC, but I don't feel that it is useable enough for real development.
Good luck ...
as many of you know, android and Linux kernels started re-merging at version 3.3. People said that a short way down the road, android apps would be able to run natively in linux. the kernel is now version 3.6 and I've heard nothing more about running android apps in linux. people on these and other forums put a lot of great work into getting linux running on android devices. now with windows 8 coming out, the market will be full of both ARM and x86 based touch devices of all sizes and shapes. I for one would love to be able to boot up ubuntu on one of these devices, and use either traditional linux apps or android touch apps as my mood and situation dictate. so- any new word on when we will be able to run android apps in linux?
we are exploring this possibility, and did some work, but nothing to release yet.
I assume you already know that for now, you can run Android as a virtual machine on Linux host.
cool to hear the work is progressing, good luck!
I heard about using a VM but was never able to find where to get it.
nothing substantial yet, we wanted to run android apps directly on desktops, Linux or Windows. Using a virtual machine is really an over kill.
You can download a prebuilt vm from ours:
http://www.vmlite.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=158&func=view&catid=9&id=8838
it has been downloaded millions of times. You can search "Android vm" on google to find instructions.
interesed
I am also hoping to see a solution to this question also. I understand that Debian, fedora and Arch Linux all have different packaging systems i always thought is was a smiler difference with android with more Java worked into the core of things. So i would think that adding the proper Java support to any Linux distro to support the apk package it should work but i am not a programmer.
Hello,
I'm totally new to both android and Linux.
Actually I've to write a driver for android phone to read all the messages.
Questions:
1. What OS, should I select?
2. If Linux; then with which flavor and version should I go?
3. From where should I begin my Android device driver learning to accomplish my task?
4. Do I need to install any SDK on my windows system to develop Android device driver or simply I should prepare linux system for Android work?
Kindly guide me with better beginning points
Regards
Matt
Hi everybody. I'd be very keen on an hypothetical Ubuntu for Android like ROM. I've searched it without success. Is there any project like this? If not, could you tell me which should be the way to go? I mean, I've played a bit with ROM development, but of course I don't have any idea of how to start a project like this.
I'd be very grateful if you could provide any information about it. How Canonical created Ubuntu for Android? How Motorola created Webtop? There are ways to install a Linux distro on a phone, but they are usually virtualized. Basically, what I'd like to have is an Android ROM that, when docked, started a GNU/Linux environment with all the power that a distro has. Package manager, desktop apps and so on. Something like Ubuntu Edge software or Microsoft Continuum, but with Android.
I know that I'm noob but I'd really appreciate you're orientations
It's possible to run (most of) a desktop Linux distro and Android concurrently under the same kernel. The main issue is how to unify the GUI - Android uses SurfaceFlinger and X11 needs its own drivers which are not available for most/all Android devices. You could play with the XSDL app.