Want to make my own AOSP ROM - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Folks, I'm just getting started here. Five minutes of Googling and my head is spinning already. Could I get some help with narrowing down what I need to learn?
My goal is to take the CM11 or PA or PAC source and then port custom features/mods from other ROM's over to it. And strip out stuff I don't need/want. Specifically what I want most is to port some Quick Settings Toggle mods from Slim over to a CM based ROM that I like a lot.
Could you help me by pointing me to some the bare learning essentials?
Android 4.4.4 is the goal. I have no plans on going to Android 5 anytime soon.
I'm not a programmer. I've just modded a couple of scripts here and there.
I have a basic familiarity with Linux.
I have VMware for virtual machines.
And I have a Samsung Infuse to play around/learn with.
Thanks!

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[Q] Building ROMs

Fellow Members
Just wanted to get some advice or material that I can read, in regards to building ROM and compiling. Maybe a few websites that you would recommend? I have been a long time lurker and finally wanting to start trying some dev work for our gtablet community. Any input would help significantly
Thanks,
Thanks for asking
I too am very curious and I wonder how the current devs learned how to do what they do. I hope someone answers this question so those of us that are curious can find a place to start poking around a bit.
yes can anyone comment, would like to know aswell. thanks
I can only assume (since I'm just as clueless) that it requires knowledge of linux programming, or at least, how linux files are set up.
A lot of roms are ports of other roms, or stock firmware. For instance, VEGAn 5.1.1 is a port of the Advent Vega firmware. The Vega, and Notion Ink Adam are all tablets with the same, or mostly similar hardware as the G-Tablet. If one can get their hands on the firmware for those, then tweaks and adjustments can be made to make it work on the G-Tablet. That's what's heppening with the HC ports right now. They are not originating with Roebeet, Linuxbossolutions, et al. They are ports of the roms based on the work being done with the Vega, Acer, and Asus tablets...
REally all that is needed is the source code for the rom you're thinking of emulating, then the knowledge of where to look for the files that need altered to make it functional on the device you want it on.
That's the beauty of the G-Tablet, it's relative unbrickableness (is that a word, well, it is now) Once you have a rom, you can open revise it to your heart's content, NVFlash it to your device and see if it works, if it doesn't, change somethign else, change it back, edit this, edit that, reflash it and see what happens. The HC roms are all in Alpha mode right now because they need tested. A developer can only do so much in testing...having 50 people testing a rom, for an hour each is a lot better than testing it yourself for 50 hours.
I was able to find a few "how to" books for creating android .apk files, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a source for reading how to hack, edit, and revise android firmware source.
If you are wanting to build from source, Google "how to build AOSP" or such.
You'll also have to look towards cyanogenmod for some tips and/or at least forking the repository they have for the gtablet device.
You pull the source code to Android down to your linux workstation (or linux running in a virtual box) and you have to add in the source repo for your device as well as fork off the repo's you plan to edit.
I went through this around this time last year. Froyo was coming out in leaks for the original Motorola Droid and I wanted to learn how to compile the AOSP that Google/Android provides (Android Open Source Project).
It was a difficult learning experience because no one wanted to share any information except Cyanogenmod Team and I was trying to build as straight AOSP as possible.
To really do it right.......
Setup a Linux workstation (or virtual, I did it this way).
Learn as much as you can about git and github.com (learn about forking, creating repos, syncing, editing and pushing your edits, etc..).
Be prepared to spend many hours/days/weeks/months editing, re-editing, reverting and cussing as you run successful "makes" against your source only to have it lock your device.
I eventually wrote a guide on how to build for AOSP but it is tailored to the motorola droid. Most of the steps are identical though you would need the device repo for the gtablet (smb_a1002) instead of the Droid (sholes).
If you want a brief look at it http://android.snkbitten.com/ and look at the AOSP source building guide.
Other than that...you can take other's ROMs, open them up (on your PC), replace files, edit the framework files etc... and then repackage it. Find the pieces that work best together (in your opinion) and roll with it. Change the build.prop to have your device name, etc...
During my learning experience I borrowed a lot from cvpcs, cyanogenmod, koush and a few others. Pouring through their github accounts to see what they were doing, sometimes manually pulling in certain aspects I liked but not wanting a copy of what they were doing..... It was time consuming and some times hair pulling out frustrating!!! However...I have a ROM in ROM Manager for the original Droid that I've been running ever since.
I thought about modifying my setup to allow multiple device building and doing a Gtablet SnkBitten ROM....but just never put any effort towards it.

[Q] Aspiring Android ROM Developer: Build Apps or Hack AOSP First?

Hey there, everyone.
I'm just looking for some advice. I've been using my Verizon Samsung Fascinate since November, and for the most part have been a very happy user. Ever since I installed a Gingerbread-based ROM, I have been extremely happy with both the device's performance and new features (nothing says cool like the Old TV Shutoff animation). Lately, I have been wanting to try my hand at modifying and packaging my own Android ROMs for the Fascinate. Obviously, I have never done something like this before, so I'm looking for some advice.
I've been programming in Java for over a year now and I'm very familiar with the language as a whole. I've used it in various programming competitions through school along with building some applications and tools for the company I'm currently interning with. Right now, I feel that I have the basic programming skills required to look through code and understand what the logic behind it is (at least I hope).
My question for you all is this: should I jump right in and start poking through the AOSP code, or would it be more beneficial for me to start off as an Android App Developer, slowly working my way into Android hacking? I have some ideas for potential apps (which I'll probably end up developing regardless, but at a later date), so if it would be more beneficial to just develop apps, I certainly have a basis for my ideas.
Any personal stories/recommendations would be excellent. Thanks in advance for any/all answers!

tips and pointers to start devin>>

i had always meant to do some developing but the drop in activity i realized when i moved from the sensation to the rezound really compelled me to start plus i have some work that i really have to do and really dont want to do so you know how it goes. Anyway to it
i started by googling how to build android roms which lead me to xda university giving me a nice expaination as to the various parts of android which i was already familliar
another search lead me to the offical how to build android from source page. i had a few concerns so i thaught i would ask here
i have knowlage building various web applications(php,js,ect) and not the let the fromework so this for me kinda apps i like thinking and innovating. i have a little experience with c++(i was at the stage of learning a gui when my old laptop crashed) so i think i have atleast good enough programming experience to catch on to java at a nice pace. Am currently reading and following googles nice little guid on developing android. Am in the process of setting up work envo (already got ubuntu 12.04 up). and thaught i would just leave a post here to see if anyone had any advice for me?
what i wanna do is be able to port for us,build original roms AOSP they call it for us, build and or port sense roms for us and eventually get to the point where i can get us sense5 or help neo(or any other dev) help us get sense 5. oh and i think i would like to build/modify kernels as well. oh oh and being able to invent exploits to get root or s-off for devices i might get in the future.
Question: while i was reading i was seeing where the buiding process was doing alot of synceing with google servers ect. i dont actually want to submit whatever garbage i might write to them while am testing so im still on the right track following the guid here correcto??
short version: I wanna build android custom roms ect not just edit files and put it out am i on the right tract following the guid here (i already know a lil programming)? http://source.android.com/source/initializing.html
any advice/resources/links welcomed
oki am on the page that says "building and running" i dont see anything for our device am guessing thats because development from aosp has stopped for us and thats where ppl like neo and cyanogen make thier magic. what is the next tut or read for me?
Try this. You could always pull Neo's CM 10.2 repos instead of the 10.1.
http://signatures.mobile-overload.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sig-cm-5.png

[DEV][WIP][YP-G70]AOKP for the Galaxy Player 5.0

Hello, ladies and gentlemen!
Now that I have finally got my hands on a YP-G70, it's time to start developing for it! For my first project, porting AOKP! If you're like me, the default customisation options are not enough to suit your needs so you turn to a custom ROM. AOKP is my first choice when it comes to customising my device. Since there currently exists no JB AOKP ROM, I have taken up the task of porting it myself. (Hopefully, I will not have to resort to building it from source!)
It will most likely be a long project, and I could not have been inspired to take on this task if it wasn't for the awesome developers working on ROMs. Any help along the way would help this project work out!
Step 1: Finding a good ROM to port from.
Reserved.
U rock!
if you could develop would help. I'm taking classes, until then I'm just tester
Looking forward to this!
64kb said:
Hello, ladies and gentlemen!
Now that I have finally got my hands on a YP-G70, it's time to start developing for it! For my first project, porting AOKP! If you're like me, the default customisation options are not enough to suit your needs so you turn to a custom ROM. AOKP is my first choice when it comes to customising my device. Since there currently exists no JB AOKP ROM, I have taken up the task of porting it myself. (Hopefully, I will not have to resort to building it from source!)
It will most likely be a long project, and I could not have been inspired to take on this task if it wasn't for the awesome developers working on ROMs. Any help along the way would help this project work out!
Step 1: Finding a good ROM to port from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I can help you perhaps, the best rom to port from would be a rom with simillar hardware. You can go search for the nexus s or the galaxy s I9000 as they've mostly the same hardware as the SGPs 4.0 and 5.0. Still I recommend building from source for optimal quality.
I was hoping this would not be the case but I have set up a Linux box for building just in case. Thanks, I can spend the next few days off from school working to get this started!
Sent from my YP-G70 using xda app-developers app
Moved to General for now, when the OP is full of development, will be more than happy to relocate!

[Q] help! trying to overhaul android os

Hey, I'm a comp sci/eng major and I'm trying to get my feet soaked in android and other languages other than c++, ruby, and go. What I would like to do is take the base of android and rebuild it a little bit by adding features to make more use of our phones, somewhat like how the MIUI ROM is. However, I don't know where to start, I've tried looking up on Google about this, but I keep coming across ROM cooking, and that's not what I'm trying to do. Clearly, I need to learn java, and probably few more languages; as well as how android works as an os which I have. If anyone can lead me into the right direction by sending links on how to give android an overhaul, disect apk, ROMs, and the programs I'll need, I think I should be fine. Thank you in advance. Any insight would be ungodly as well.

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