Building a rom from scratch - Java for Android App Development

Hi everyone.
I'm typing this from a phone so sorry about spelling.
I have some dev experience mostly in c# and a bit of java a long time ago.
As a project I want to build my own Rom ground up.
I realize the immensity of the task and I know you also have the xda university as a resource.
I want to primarily develop a Rom user interface first then begin developing integrated apps. I realise I could use a stock Rom for this too
Tldr: can you recommend a recent cheap phone with nfc which Is easy for Rom development

I believe Moto G3 should be right for you (don't know if it has NFC).
The source ,drivers etc are easily available.
It should make everything easy.
Also I would like to add don't try to build a UI from scratch, instead build from your device source from CM or elsewhere.
And buddy you posted this in the wrong section.

Related

Status of the Vogue-Android Project, please read

Ok everyone,
There's been alot of movement both forward and laterally on the vogue-android project lately, and while it's all been great I'm having some concerns.
There has been alot of forking lately of the project. Different builds are great and I can't encourage that enough, but with all of the changes, and great developments being made to the rootfs and kernel we are losing alot of what made this project going great.
There's such a jumble of builds, out there right now it's getting confusing for everyone. So please guys can we move the project back to centralization?
By that I mean build threads are for system images only.
Changes to the rootfs's and kernel's are fantastic, but please can we make a new thread just for those?
As well to all the kaiser guys. Don't get me wrong I think it's great that so many of these files are working so good for you guys but can you keep development of your port to your forum, so there's less confusion for the new people? I've said it lots, if any of the kaiser guys wanna port over the builds I've ported to kaiser's go ahead, but please post them in the kaiser forum.
I'll happily keep the google code page updated with new bundles, that have been tested and confirmed stable, that page is not for specific people's work only, but for vogue/kaiser files that can be considered the standard files to use.
I support this.
well put. i feel the exact same way. i've given up till a bundle comes out cause im confused what is the newest or if it will work(not a fan of the kaiser now that they took over). I'm really hoping for more development on the android rom but im a script kiddie and no developer.. unfortunately
thanks for bringing this up
I could not agree more!
I've actually returned to running WinMo on my phone because I've become so lost in the Android project. There's so many different forks out there, and all sorts of random files being uploaded to Google Code, I have absolutely no idea what is what anymore.
It was going really well when vilord and dzo were working on it, now suddenly it seems both of them are out of it and the "vanilla" Android 1.5 builds are no longer being worked on. There hasn't been a basic "system" update in nearly a month now.
And to make matters worse, there's no clear explanation of what's what anywhere and nobody is posting proper change logs. So all these new files keep popping up with no word on what they're for and what's changed.
I just want to run Android on my phone, with no stupid skins, UI replacements or massive customizations of any kind... and I don't know how to do that anymore.
I'm not really sure why all this work seems to be focused on customizations right now anyways, when there are much more important things to work on like Bluetooth, aGPS, and a flashable ROM.
Yes, this is most definitively needed, not to stifle anyone's creativity, but to allow the maximum number of people to enjoy the project. Otherwise it's far too possible that all the various ports will just turn people off to Android, and it's far too important to allow that to happen. I've already asked mssmison to post whole, relatively stable packages so people don't get overwhelmed with all the various components and builds. Maybe a re-fresh of the packages every 2 or 3 weeks, along with the testing packages for all you brave souls to make it more user friendly.
I'm going to re-organize the google code page for vogue tonight so it should be more clear for everyone. vilord isn't out of the project, he just is moving
I've cleaned up the google code page a bit, I've depreciated some older downloads and the older bundle.
I keep all my builds separate and off the vogue-android page too keep it clean and focused on the main bundle there which is android-1.5-x. The test rootfs.imgs that I put out are only for testing purposes and are my personal experiments related to hero and they stay on vogue-hero. They do not apply to non hero builds and I try to state that in the threads I started for my other two non hero builds. I'm not supporting squashfs right now and I'm not going to be posting builds in squashfs right now. If people think that squashfs is the way to go then all images need to be in squashfs including android-1.5x builds. That would avoid the main squashfs rootfs/kernel/initrd fork thats going on with people downloading the squashfs base files. I don't support kaiser wifi builds of my hero images because they don't work for the vogue. I'll be taking down all kaiser/squashfs related files on vogue-hero until further notice and create vogue bundles of the files that work with each build.
i agree about too many different builds and files mixed together, it's really confusing to an average user like me who's sorta new to android. you devs should package up a zip with all the most stable, needed files for you specific builds so we can't mess up and download something that might not work right. myself i use my phone daily and for work, so i need stability.
mssmison said:
Ok everyone,
There's been alot of movement both forward and laterally on the vogue-android project lately, and while it's all been great I'm having some concerns.
There has been alot of forking lately of the project. Different builds are great and I can't encourage that enough, but with all of the changes, and great developments being made to the rootfs and kernel we are losing alot of what made this project going great.
There's such a jumble of builds, out there right now it's getting confusing for everyone. So please guys can we move the project back to centralization?
By that I mean build threads are for system images only.
Changes to the rootfs's and kernel's are fantastic, but please can we make a new thread just for those?
As well to all the kaiser guys. Don't get me wrong I think it's great that so many of these files are working so good for you guys but can you keep development of your port to your forum, so there's less confusion for the new people? I've said it lots, if any of the kaiser guys wanna port over the builds I've ported to kaiser's go ahead, but please post them in the kaiser forum.
I'll happily keep the google code page updated with new bundles, that have been tested and confirmed stable, that page is not for specific people's work only, but for vogue/kaiser files that can be considered the standard files to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to this! It's getting cluttered and confusing... BUT AWESOME!
stickus said:
+1 to this! It's getting cluttered and confusing... BUT AWESOME!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it looking better now on the google code page?
whatever is in that new base files package really sped up my build from zen, ill tell you that much, now my phone recieves calls too. the only thing i notice is im back to the old style button map settings for adjusting volume and waking up the phone and such?
things look a lot cleaner on the google code page now... just DL-ing the new bundle you posted and we'll see how things go from there. Glad to hear that that old button layout is back, not really a fan of the newer one.
all i know is there is no lag to my build at all now, WOW...nice work guys!
fixxxer2008 said:
whatever is in that new base files package really sped up my build from zen, ill tell you that much, now my phone recieves calls too. the only thing i notice is im back to the old style button map settings for adjusting volume and waking up the phone and such?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All thanks to the bundle of files go to pmos, him and no one else. I just put together the system.
The button thing was accidental, however I have had alot of problems with my camera button not working intermittantly, we are working on a way of it being user selectable at boot.
I would also agree that some sort of organization is definitely needed. I think that system image threads should be condensed or organized in some way also. Having 15 threads, each with not too much information on what the build actually is, and info on the new update on page 15... just makes it hard for everyone. New comers and people who are experienced and trying to help others.
TheKartus said:
I would also agree that some sort of organization is definitely needed. I think that system image threads should be condensed or organized in some way also. Having 15 threads, each with not too much information on what the build actually is, and info on the new update on page 15... just makes it hard for everyone. New comers and people who are experienced and trying to help others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 5 threads for builds. One for the kernel.
welll my phone is still running good today with that new bundle that was posted last night.
im still getting used to the old style button mapping but to be honest i like it better this way.
I think this post goes in the wrong direction.
The best thing of Android is that devs from different mobiles are working toguether to improve our phones.
I´m a polaris user and in the development of android for polaris developers with different phones help a lot
What we need is an Android section as it´s being petitioned in order to develop all toguether. Of course with organization.
Let´s think as Android and not only as vogue
iseeka said:
I think this post goes in the wrong direction.
The best thing of Android is that devs from different mobiles are working toguether to improve our phones.
I´m a polaris user and in the development of android for polaris developers with different phones help a lot
What we need is an Android section as it´s being petitioned in order to develop all toguether. Of course with organization.
Let´s think as Android and not only as vogue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree but remember this is a vogue forum, so for the average user that comes here, they have a vogue. If you guys have a polaris dev get him to contact me and we'll look into making the bundles work right with your phones as well.
Again this is why I posted the poll to move the dev to another forum where we can have proper organization

[Q] How to port or improve hero roms ??

Hi,
Right now i am learning programming, I am interested joining hero ROM development. Are there any short tutorials that I could use or something that would help me to start with.
Thank you
There's quite a lot of foundations to build before you will start to see anything above ground level
Cyanogenmod is the foundation of most ROMs. Their Wiki is a good place to start. They have a lot of tutorials on setting up. For example, look for:
Overview_of_Modding
Howto Install_the_Android_SDK
Building_from_source
Howto Install_Kernels
These pages will give you an overview.
In terms of the programming side, this requires a lot of experience. It will take some time for you to be able to make major contributions.
But having said that, once you have a decent knowledge of C and some understanding of kernel source structure, you can read the source. Look at what others have done and try to understand what is going on.
Get hold of a recent book on kernel programming, such as
Linux Kernel in a Nutshell (Greg Kroah-Hartman - O'Reilly)
Linux Kernel Development (Robert Love)
These are not beginners books, but they do get into the subject at a reasonable pace once you have enough knowledge to start. I think anyone serious about doing kernel work is going to have to learn this sort of stuff to really understand what they're tinkering with.
I don't want to discourage you. Just don't underestimate the size of the task. As a beginner, the best contribution you can make is as a tester. Learn the issue tracker system, make a name submitting clear bug reports. This is not glamorous, but essential for a ROM project.
I found this book very interesting:
Linux Device Drivers
http://lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3/
And thanks codeazure, I'll check those two out as well
codeazure said:
There's quite a lot of foundations to build before you will start to see anything above ground level
Cyanogenmod is the foundation of most ROMs. Their Wiki is a good place to start. They have a lot of tutorials on setting up. For example, look for:
Overview_of_Modding
Howto Install_the_Android_SDK
Building_from_source
Howto Install_Kernels
These pages will give you an overview.
In terms of the programming side, this requires a lot of experience. It will take some time for you to be able to make major contributions.
But having said that, once you have a decent knowledge of C and some understanding of kernel source structure, you can read the source. Look at what others have done and try to understand what is going on.
Get hold of a recent book on kernel programming, such as
Linux Kernel in a Nutshell (Greg Kroah-Hartman - O'Reilly)
Linux Kernel Development (Robert Love)
These are not beginners books, but they do get into the subject at a reasonable pace once you have enough knowledge to start. I think anyone serious about doing kernel work is going to have to learn this sort of stuff to really understand what they're tinkering with.
I don't want to discourage you. Just don't underestimate the size of the task. As a beginner, the best contribution you can make is as a tester. Learn the issue tracker system, make a name submitting clear bug reports. This is not glamorous, but essential for a ROM project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for good explanation Yap I know it's hard to start since I am beginner. But because I have lot of time and Have "HTC Hero" I think I'll go for it...
Thanks again.

[Q] list of all notable android mods

is there one?
i just know cyanogen and i heard about "blacky´s rom" but could not find it via google.
thx vm
kws
You won't get an answer here.
You really should just Google it.
There is no list. There is no one collection of these MODS.
I don't know if you are referring to MODS, as those coders/hackers that MODify Android, or if you are looking for MODifications to android.
Either way, you are asking for one helluva long ass list if you think one exists.
There are literally thousands of MODifications you can do to an android device.
There literally hundreds of android MODifiers/coders/hackers/developers, etc.
yes indeed,
i ment MODifications of android. but not just modifications but roms.
i just wrote 'mods' because cyanogen call their product 'mod'.
and i did google it. especially 'blacky', about which i heard some time ago.
but i could not find anything. when i google 'android mod' 90% of the results
are about cyanogenmod. the rest is something totally different.
and i think if you would take just the notable (means with a certain amount
of developer activity) roms/mods, the list would not be too long.
but anyway, thanx. i will bite my way through.
have a nice one
kws
Suggestion. Put rom manager on your phone and play
Sent from my EVO with CM7 and honeybread
Compile a list yourself and post it?
It is clear that custom roms are new to you. I only recently flashed my first custom rom but I think I can be more helpful than some people are choosing to be.
I wouldnt get a rom from google. You dont really know its source and often have no one to contact about issues/suggestions. I think the safest option if to go to the subforum on this site that is specific for your phone. Then click on Android Development Forum. In there you will probably have threads for all the major roms such as CyanogenMod, Revolution, LeeDroid, CoreDroid. These are all being constantly improved and you can also report bugs to help future development. Best advantage is they usually have specific instructions for that rom.
Good luck!

[Need] AOSP Reading Materials

Hi all,
I'm looking for recommendations on reading materials. I have been rooting and modding since my Epic and am looking for books on working with AOSP. I want to learn the correct way to do things so I figured there is no better place to go but than to my fellow XDA brothers for advice. Thanks
Everyday I look thru the cyanogen GitHub commit history and study yhr code changes. I also look thru the official Google repo.
Nothing helped me learn more than setting up my own build environment, pull down the source, compile and flash to my device.
Then practice making code changes and compile and test.
Cyan is best place to start.

[Q] [DEV Q] ROM Hacks: The Beginning

Hi Guys,
This is a bit of a request, a bit of a question.
I want to try to lightly mod a ROM to start off, then work my way into rewriting some serious system files.
I'm in high school right now, with experience in C++ and Java, but am interested in getting a job in lower-level programming.
I was wondering if:
a) There is a de-compiled version of the latest stock Gingerbread I can mess with
b) Any warnings about this
c) Any instructional material about ROM hacks / programming and low level OS programming available either in print or online.
Sorry for not posting this in General, not development, but I don't have enough posts to get to that yet since I'm new...
If this is a double post, redirect me to something similar, but I couldn't find anything similar to my situation on XDA or elsewhere.
Check out this thread. Although it doesn't have the Droid X it can show you the general idea about building a ROM.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861315
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Categories

Resources