so, ive noticed there are two development sections for this device, and many others. one is 'original development', the other is just 'development'. what gives?!?
i can only figure its one of two things.. either a hardware change during the model run, or that the first section simply became full, and a second 'non original' section needed made for newer material. im probably wrong on both counts tho, right?!
Q
Same question, but never tried to understand at all, searching two forum branches instead of one isn't that hard
Android Development is ment for small changes, let's say you take an existing ROM (i.e: CM11) and you just add a few things like a different launcher or if you port an already existing ROM like MIUI, in reallity you are not "developing" something original, something of your own and so it gets classified under "Android Development".
Now if you take CM sources and start adding different things, new things, create a new ROM based off that, something that is not currently being worked for the phone (take for example AxxionKAT ROM from thatkawaiiguy, he took CM as base and started to add more and more things to his rom. There it becomes "Original Android Development, something fresh .
That's how I get it
Ahhh, that makes sense. Thanks.
Its not searching thats the problem.. its that i like to be sure of what im looking at, and what the difference is.
Sent from my LG-E970 using XDA Free mobile app
Related
Hey all,
I'm not sure if others would see the value in this at all, but I think it'd be handy to maybe have a sticky thread with all the Custom Hero ROMs that are available and the features in each, as well as maybe the latest revision Notes.
If the scene for the Hero becomes anywhere near as big as the Dream/Magic one apart from trying all the ROM's it's quite difficult to know what each does, how it differs from the other offerings, and weather its built for speed (glorious speed), features or experimental to show off new features in upcoming firmware, etc.
Am I barking up the wrong tree here, or does anyone else think this may be a handy feature?
I think this is a good idea (providing we do get a large number of roms). I struggle to read through the dream rom forums.
This would be....
...awesome.
good idea. we have 2 ROMs now I read in one of the post someone else is going to be building another one too.
Yea, I was going to try my hand at a little ROM cooking as well, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to produce anything that Modaco/Drizzy can't. Will see when I work out all the parts of the ROM and how to sign it etc.
Failing that, for the time being, when they release new versions I'll try my hand at updaing this forum thread to suit the latest versions and show difference between the two (or more)!
Having a stickied thread that lists custom ROMs and their features and descriptions as well as links to them would be very welcome yes. I've tried Modaco 2.1 and DDR v2.0 already and Im sure I'll try many more as they appear.
The purpose of this forum is for XDA members to post any ROMs they make, which are derived from existing Galaxy S II ROMs (within the scope of the rules). We listened to your feedback, in wanting to separate ROMs from derivative ROMs to avoid confusion and to protect the original creators (the chefs) of such ROMs, and to make it easier to find major developments.
This forum is for ROMs that aren't an original creation by you in terms of the underlying software, meaning, they've been either 1. developed with assistance from a kitchen or are 2. a re-skinning/re-themeing/minor adjustment of a particular ROM developed by someone else.
We welcome your derviative ROMs, as they give even more choice to XDA users. When you post in this forum, we ask that you be respectful of the original creator by following rule 12, particularly:
1. Linking back to the source ROM
2. Mention the creator of the ROM upon which your deriviative ROM is based.
Thank you for your cooperation
P.S. This is a bit of an experiment. Should it make sense, we'll roll it out to other forums on XDA.
Well, finally you can seperate the men from the boys... !! Nice thought..!!
Good idea, but how do I get to this ROM from the XDA app?
thanks
DT
d_train said:
Good idea, but how do I get to this ROM from the XDA app?
thanks
DT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 i not can see in xda premium app
puschkin said:
+1 i not can see in xda premium app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to the Stickies tab.
Edit: It's in the Topics tab now.
adyscorpius said:
Well, finally you can seperate the men from the boys... !! Nice thought..!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know about that.
Personally I think this Derivative Rom subsection is a bit ridiculous. How does Litening Rom end up in that section. It was one of the first Rom's created for the SGS2 and sure it's a derivative of the original firmware but whose isn't. If that's the case why isn't Pusler_G2 Rom in there as well. With that line of thinking all Rom's should be placed in the derivative section except CM7, oh wait, but his is a derivative of AOSP. I think XDA's arbitrary judgement on what is a derivative or not needs some further consideration. IMO all your going to do is piss off developers with this new sub-section.
jlevy73 said:
Personally I think this Derivative Rom subsection is a bit ridiculous. How does Litening Rom end up in that section. It was one of the first Rom's created for the SGS2 and sure it's a derivative of the original firmware but whose isn't. If that's the case why isn't Pusler_G2 Rom in there as well. With that line of thinking all Rom's should be placed in the derivative section except CM7, oh wait, but his is a derivative of AOSP. I think XDA's arbitrary judgement on what is a derivative or not needs some further consideration. IMO all your going to do is piss off developers with this new sub-section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.....
?????
jlevy73 said:
Personally I think this Derivative Rom subsection is a bit ridiculous. How does Litening Rom end up in that section. It was one of the first Rom's created for the SGS2 and sure it's a derivative of the original firmware but whose isn't. If that's the case why isn't Pusler_G2 Rom in there as well. With that line of thinking all Rom's should be placed in the derivative section except CM7, oh wait, but his is a derivative of AOSP. I think XDA's arbitrary judgement on what is a derivative or not needs some further consideration. IMO all your going to do is piss off developers with this new sub-section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. Not a good idea. We need to be VERY clear on the rules here.. Right now, they don't seem to be clear, and or are not being applied correctly.
Anyone knows where Litening ROM is based from? Ive read the OP and saw litening is included. Im just curious
I like the idea of tidying up the fourm there alot of threads and alot of ROMS coming out.
I think that you would need to make clear rule on which section a new or current ROM should be in.
The main example which seems to be going on is between VillanROM and LightngPRO. They did appear near the same time, we know that Villian came first but they are each the individuals work are they not?
In creating the seperation you might end up giving the impression that one ROM is better than another.
Could you not make splits like Samsung ROMS/ASOP/Kernels?
Themes already have their own section.
jlevy73 said:
Personally I think this Derivative Rom subsection is a bit ridiculous. How does Litening Rom end up in that section. It was one of the first Rom's created for the SGS2 and sure it's a derivative of the original firmware but whose isn't. If that's the case why isn't Pusler_G2 Rom in there as well. With that line of thinking all Rom's should be placed in the derivative section except CM7, oh wait, but his is a derivative of AOSP. I think XDA's arbitrary judgement on what is a derivative or not needs some further consideration. IMO all your going to do is piss off developers with this new sub-section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct!
xda team must reconsider.
These are not serious stuff...
All custom roms are derrivatives of original firmwares.
giokou said:
All custom roms are derrivatives of original firmwares.
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Click to collapse
They are meaning that if it is a derrivative of another members ROM, not if it is made from the stock ROM, it is obvious that they have to be derrived from somewhere. and silly to say that all ROMs should be in here because they come from stock.
from what i can tell the section is trying to protect the work of ROM makers, by highlight the original work and moving works based on a ROM to this section.
Say if i took Villian ROM, adviced people to use Jame Bonds Kernel not CF. Themed it and removed some app. i have made a release but it is not my work the base was villian, so it was derived from that. hence it would go in this section.
EDIT: But i still think the hard part of a section like this is telling what the ROM was derived from. Who is going to do the checking
Crucio_ said:
Could you not make splits like Samsung ROMS/ASOP/Kernels?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
10 Char...
Crucio_ said:
They are meaning that if it is a derrivative of another members ROM, not if it is made from the stock ROM, it is obvious that they have to be derrived from somewhere. and silly to say that all ROMs should be in here because they come from stock.
from what i can tell the section is trying to protect the work of ROM makers, by highlight the original work and moving works based on a ROM to this section.
Say if i took Villian ROM, adviced people to use Jame Bonds Kernel not CF. Themed it and removed some app. i have made a release but it is not my work the base was villian, so it was derived from that. hence it would go in this section.
EDIT: But i still think the hard part of a section like this is telling what the ROM was derived from. Who is going to do the checking
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Click to collapse
Exactly my point mate!
That's why it is pointless...
I'd like to point out that my rom is not derived at all, i even explained in my OP what was my IDEA and how i was able to get somethings new compared to other custom ROM.
It is the first rom based on XXKG1 release with HW accelerated browser, and it's my own experiment to built an Hybrid ROM (deodexed/odexed). In addition i am using a new kernel developed by angelom in italy!
I did everythings starting from the official (samfirmware) release XXKG1. I didn't use kitchen for theming i have done it by myself, if you don't believe me you can double check it in my Italian Blog that i realized video tutorials on how to theme for LG Dual!
That said, of course each developer use some cool stuff or mod that have been shared here, otherwise what's the point to have a developers community???
Even if there is some mod ready to be included inside a ROM, i always prefer to decompile things do a reverse engineering on smali code and remake mods by me in order to assure that stuff won't break things in my ROM (i.e. FC)
Sorry, but i like to be fair and i wanted to write it down!
LeoMar75 said:
I'd like to point out that my rom is not derived at all, i even explained in my OP what was my IDEA and how i was able to get somethings new compared to other custom ROM.
It is the first rom based on XXKG1 release with HW accelerated browser, and it's my own experiment to built an Hybrid ROM (deodexed/odexed). In addition i am using a new kernel developed by angelom in italy!
I did everythings starting from the official (samfirmware) release XXKG1. I didn't use kitchen for theming i have done it by myself, if you don't believe me you can double check it in my Italian Blog that i realized video tutorials on how to theme for LG Dual!
That said, of course each developer use some cool stuff or mod that have been shared here, otherwise what's the point to have a developers community???
Even if there is some mod ready to be included inside a ROM, i always prefer to decompile things do a reverse engineering on smali code and remake mods by me in order to assure that stuff won't break things in my ROM (i.e. FC)
Sorry, but i like to be fair and i wanted to write it down!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are absolutely right, there are many dev who have done extraordinary things with their roms and put a lot of hours on their rom making. the only thing that has happened now is that you must go to two different places to look up different rom.
Agree. The Development forum is too big and confusing. It better be split in to:-
1) Samsung-StockROM-Mods (Insanity, VillainROM etc)
2) AOSP/Cyanogen-Based (MIUI, CM7 etc..)
3) Kernels
The so called derivatives/themer's ROMs should ideally be pushed to a sub-forum under Themes.
I don't like this idea. Somebody is bumping up his/her ego for nothing.
Mods/admins are creating illusion for first class and second class roms.
Just my two euros.
hacksome said:
Agree. The Development forum is too big and confusing. It better be split in to:-
1) Samsung-StockROM-Mods (Insanity, VillainROM etc)
2) AOSP/Cyanogen-Based (MIUI, CM7 etc..)
3) Kernels
The so called derivatives/themer's ROMs should ideally be pushed to a sub-forum under Themes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like your idea, just gonna modify to my tastes
1) Roms (subforum)
2) Kernels (subforum)
3) Other Dev stuff (WIP, Guides etc) (this is main forum)
this way there can be no bias towards anything or anyone. It makes it easier to find either the deisred rom and/or kernel
Hey everyone,
We've made a small change to this forum by giving it a different name. This is now the *default* Android development forum for Galaxy S II. Any works that are completely original will be filed in the Original Android Development forum. Everything else will go here.
We have a more long-term solution to the ROM situation in the works. It'll be a database-driven ROM upload tool that will make it super easy for users to find and rate the ROMs that you upload. You'll be hearing more about this in the coming months.
For now, please continue to provide feedback. Thank you for your help in making XDA a more organized place.
Thanks!
P.S. If you think your ROM should be placed in the Original Android Development forum, send me a PM.
Edit from noppy22: this thread is no longer relevant so I unstuck it...
Sveitus,
I am dissapointed that the original explainatory thread was closed without reason after it was collecting opposing comments. Not cool.
I believe what you've posted (not done, I am confident that this was done with some consultation, somewhere) should be discussed in a wider context.
To that end, I've opened a thread in the XDA general forum with an admittedly emotive title "First and Second Class ROMS, 1st, 2nd class users". Please track this thread, assuming it's not lost amidst the noise.
I would have posted my concerns in the original notification thread except...
What gives?
Just imagine someone from sensation comes here and sees two development threads...
Sensation owners must be jealous by now..
But why is this only done on the GALAXY S2 subforums? Please, implement this on all phone subforum. I want to see how others would react.
Still think this is a stupid idea. If devs don't want other devs recycling their works, better not publish it. Or you can just close the thread of the ROM that was derived from an another ROM without permission/due credit.
The current situation is not something new to all of us.
There were always have been such ''issues'' among the rom developers.
xda team the way you chose to work this out is not good at all.
I'm starting to think that you don't listen to the majority of the users...
You hear a few dev's that probably are jealous of others...
This is not right for the community.
I personally am not supporting anyone particularly, but you must find another solution.
giokou said:
The current situation is not something new to all of us.
There were always have been such ''issues'' among the rom developers.
xda team the way you chose to work this out is not good at all.
I'm starting to think that you don't listen to the majority of the users...
You hear a few dev's that probably are jealous of others...
This is not right for the community.
I personally am not supporting anyone particularly, but you must find another solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I 100% support this view...
If this is the case, then no custom roms should be in "original" section, as they are all derived from the stock manufacturer's roms.
khein said:
But why is this only done on the GALAXY S2 subforums? Please, implement this on all phone subforum. I want to see how others would react.
Still think this is a stupid idea. If devs don't want other devs recycling their works, better not publish it. Or you can just close the thread of the ROM that was derived from an another ROM without permission/due credit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All hell would break lose and their would be a mass exodus of developers and some pissed off members.
And why was the other thread closed. Perhaps XDA didn't like that all the negative PR they were getting. This plan was poorly conceived and executed. And to make it worse, XDA is being the judge, jury and executioner.
I am quite disappointed that this unjustified separation and disqualification of some devs work is still not corrected. You justified your step by "feedback" asking for it. I believe you are severely misleading people here.
You earned a lot of justified feedback in the first thread being deleted meanwhile and still you don't get things sorted out.
It is obviously totally wrong to piss off devs and force them to prove they are not guilty of what you may think. It ought to be the other way around: you should have a prove to claim what you state before you behave (and take action) the way you did. Some kind of US wild west mentality around here. I understand when people think that you only try to protect some of the devs being closer to you or being longer active on xda than some others. The selection of Roms being put to one or the other section proves that already since there seems to be no logic behind your decisions. Some early birds being put to the second class thread while some others who have just released quite usual stuff but were active with other hardware before have been put to the first class thread. And till now no kind of explanation why this or that Rom has been put here or there? What about Litenin e.g. which has been asked for a dozen times in the first, deleted thread ?
And above all: what kind of guilt do you think of ?
We are talking about open source here and all Roms are derived from Samsung stuff except for CM / MIUI. So where does originality start and where does it end? And who may decide: Even if a custom ROM was copied from another custom one in the first step it might have become an own developement over time.
jlevy73 said:
All hell would break lose and their would be a mass exodus of developers and some pissed off members.
And why was the other thread closed. Perhaps XDA didn't like that all the negative PR they were getting. This plan was poorly conceived and executed. And to make it worse, XDA is being the judge, jury and executioner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other thread was closed because it was a discussion on the Derived ROMs Forum format, which as you state wasn't what we hoped it would be. So, changed the forum format. The old discussion was closed and a new one started to discuss this iteration. The thread was also started and stuck by svetius.
zikarus said:
I am quite disappointed that this unjustified separation and disqualification of some devs work is still not corrected. You justified your step by "feedback" asking for it. I believe you are severely misleading people here.
You earned a lot of justified feedback in the first thread being deleted meanwhile and still you don't get things sorted out.
It is obviously totally wrong to piss off devs and force them to prove they are not guilty of what you may think. It ought to be the other way around: you should have a prove to claim what you state before you behave (and take action) the way you did. Some kind of US wild west mentality around here. I understand when people think that you only try to protect some of the devs being closer to you or being longer active on xda than some others. The selection of Roms being put to one or the other section proves that already since there seems to be no logic behind your decisions. Some early birds being put to the second class thread while some others who have just released quite usual stuff but were active with other hardware before have been put to the first class thread. And till now no kind of explanation why this or that Rom has been put here or there? What about Litenin e.g. which has been asked for a dozen times in the first, deleted thread ?
And above all: what kind of guilt do you think of ?
We are talking about open source here and all Roms are derived from Samsung stuff except for CM / MIUI. So where does originality start and where does it end? And who may decide: Even if a custom ROM was copied from another custom one in the first step it might have become an own developement over time.
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Click to collapse
The thread hasn't been deleted, it's been closed. The reasons (while obvious) are above.
Clearer..
<sarcasm>
This titling does make it clearer..
Example:
Original Development: CM7
It's built from the ground up with a myriad of coded additions to be a truly 'Original' product.
Development: Everything else
All other ROMS are stock deodexed upgrades.
</sarcasm>
Don't like this idea...
DaveShaw said:
The thread hasn't been deleted, it's been closed. The reasons (while obvious) are above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Closed or deleted - did not see it but no big difference anyway.
And there is nothing obvious neither about the closing nor the separation.
If you like to install a new tool do so. Build it, introduce it. Till then leave things as they were, stop separation and maybe excuse for the mess you produced by an unbiased decision... My 5 ct
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I really don't understand what an "original ROM" is. Google wrote the only original Android ROM imho.
here's a thought.
Villain Rom Lite is in "original" even though it's clearly based off VillainRom.
There's CLEAR favoritism going on here.
It should either be merged with the original or moved. It's just the same ROM with removed apps. How is that "original"?
Simple Result:
As far as I see; Some devs are out of business and as far as I feel, more to be...
mynameisjon said:
here's a thought.
Villain Rom Lite is in "original" even though it's clearly based off VillainRom.
There's CLEAR favoritism going on here.
It should either be merged with the original or moved. It's just the same ROM with removed apps. How is that "original"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm actually the fact that thread was buried a few pages until yesterday meant svetius may have missed it. Moved it across.
That's grand, we don't have derivated roms anymore, we have originals and others (stolen, fakes, not so cool). I like the way mods are listening...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I must admit, the way the mods have chosen to separate the two development sections doesn't sit well with me at all. The criteria for which section a ROM goes in to is very subjective and open to various interpretations, all of which are prone to the moderator's possible bias.
Strictly speaking, only one or two ROMs are 'original development' and belong in that section. All the others are derivatives in some way or another.
A better way to clean up the dev forum would be to have a couple of sub-sections; perhaps one for all ROMs (regardless of source), one for kernels and related modifications and another for android-specific modifications. Then, be strict about enforcing the sub-section criteria. Also, ask ROM chefs to state in their OP whether the ROM is based on another ROM and to credit the original developer/chef.
Everything else goes in Themes & Apps.
Also, having a mandatory format for thread titles (a la the HD2 forum) is an excellent way to keep things tidy and ensure that people know when a new release has been posted and what the releases are based upon. It worked over in HD2 rather well I thought. After coming from an HD2 to the S2, I thought that the S2 forums were a little untidy to say the least.
Ok, serious mode off, back to my usual sarcastic self.
OK, I dont agree with the splitting of the forums, but its not my decision and will go along with it. One thing that does really annoy me and needs to be fixed is that this new forum doesnt show up on the android app. Can that be fixed? I like keeping up with a few roms here and am usually on the move.
TheBishopOfSoho said:
OK, I dont agree with the splitting of the forums, but its not my decision and will go along with it. One thing that does really annoy me and needs to be fixed is that this new forum doesnt show up on the android app. Can that be fixed? I like keeping up with a few roms here and am usually on the move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No harm in disagreeing! If enough people disagree, the mods may relent on this decision.
I have SGS2 currently 2.3.3 I9100XXKE7 and I haven't upgraded because I am waiting for original UK ICS upgrade.
There is a plethora of ROMS and Themes available on XDA and its very hard to decide what to choose so I am putting my questions here.
1. What is the difference between theme and ROM.
2. I only want to change the look and feel (icons etc) so what do I use, Theme or ROM?
3. What criteria do I use to choose a theme/ROM.
4. Is there a comparison chart/sheet online?
1) A rom is the "nuts & bolts" of the Android operating system (together with the kernel, and to a lesser extent the modem), a theme is a "skin" that goes over that.
2) Different roms will likely have different icon sets. You can also get themes for most roms which can change these icons and the look of the rom from that provided by whomever made the rom.
3) Criteria ? It's entirely up to you. You need to try out different roms and/or kernels until you find one that works well for you/gives you what you want. You won't have the same experience as me with a given rom/kernel because you use your phone differently, your phone isn't setup the same as mine and our phones will have come out of the factory slightly differently.
4) No, there isn't (or at least one that's been updated recently). There are too many roms for SGS2 to have a readable comparison of all of them in one place (I recall seeing a half-arsed list months ago that was light on detail but I don't have a link. Do a search & you may find something). If you have a look at the thread for each corresponding rom in the development section of the board, you will normally find the features in the first post or two on the first page of the thread. You can often get a good read of what a rom does/doesn't do by reading say, the first 10 pages of the thread & the last say 20 pages. This will give you an idea of other users' experience with the rom as well.
Essentially you're asking people for their opinions, and the stock standard answer you're going to get from people on here 9 times out of 10 is to try roms for yourself.
MistahBungle said:
1) A rom is the "nuts & bolts" of the Android operating system (together with the kernel, and to a lesser extent the modem), a theme is a "skin" that goes over that.
2) Different roms will likely have different icon sets. You can also get themes for most roms which can change these icons and the look of the rom from that provided by whomever made the rom.
3) Criteria ? It's entirely up to you. You need to try out different roms and/or kernels until you find one that works well for you/gives you what you want. You won't have the same experience as me with a given rom/kernel because you use your phone differently, your phone isn't setup the same as mine and our phones will have come out of the factory slightly differently.
4) No, there isn't (or at least one that's been updated recently). There are too many roms for SGS2 to have a readable comparison of all of them in one place (I recall seeing a half-arsed list months ago that was light on detail but I don't have a link. Do a search & you may find something). If you have a look at the thread for each corresponding rom in the development section of the board, you will normally find the features in the first post or two on the first page of the thread. You can often get a good read of what a rom does/doesn't do by reading say, the first 10 pages of the thread & the last say 20 pages. This will give you an idea of other users' experience with the rom as well.
Essentially you're asking people for their opinions, and the stock standard answer you're going to get from people on here 9 times out of 10 is to try roms for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for a detailed answer
Just a followup question before I go on looking at Themes on XDA
Does a stock ROM allow custom Themes?(Phone is already rooted)
Or
I need to install a custom ROM first?
lol
Pick a rom you like first !!! Make sure it fits your needs and 100% stable before you worry about themes lol
Go launcher does themes as do many alternate launchers
A good read - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1473577
Hi guys
I'm aware of CyanogenMod, but is it possible to have a completely stock JB ROM with no mods (other than busybox, deodexing, etc..) or custom apps installed? I can't seem to find one
Cheers
The community will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you'd have to build from source (AOSP) if you wanted something that is super-vanilla and hasn't been touched by a manufacturer outside of CM, AOKP, etc.
That said I also believe this particular question should be posted in the General or Q&A sections, for future reference.
djmatt604 said:
The community will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you'd have to build from source (AOSP) if you wanted something that is super-vanilla and hasn't been touched by a manufacturer outside of CM, AOKP, etc.
That said I also believe this particular question should be posted in the General or Q&A sections, for future reference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply
I mean Android was made to work on all devices right, but does CM do something like adding "drivers" (or the equivelent)? Is that what developers do when they "port" something like a new ROM that has been released on a similar device?
If multiple devices have a stock Android JB ROM, and they're also using a Tegra 2 CPU (and I'm guessing they all use the same type of RAM) etc.. is it quite easy to port? Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to compile it from source/getting it to run on a device?
I'm into technology, but without some serious research, I wouldn't have a clue where to start unfortunately
P.S. Yeah I realised after, already reported it to be moved
I've never ported between devices, but I've read enough to say confidently that things can be tough if you are porting between devices that are too different. At the very least you should stick between manufacturers...like it would be easier to port from Galaxy S2 Hercules to S2 Skyrocket for example than it would be from S2 to HTC xxx. There are quite a few good guides that explain how to port safely as long as the board configs and other important stuff are the same. If you aren't sure, don't do it.
For compiling from source, do a search on XDA here for shenye's guide "Compile JB on Ubuntu" - it was also featured on XDA TV. It's very helpful. Compiling isn't all that hard, but takes time and patience especially if you are working on a non-flagship device. It will likely take much research to find the right repositories for your device and vendor config, plus time to fix any errors the compiler reports.
Good luck!!