On 29 January 2012 18:00, Robert A. Lerche <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi. I have previously built LFS and used the LFS Live CD project to > create a custom system (back in the 6.3 / 6.4 days). > > I am now engaged in a project for a client using Android on a custom > embedded system. As you may know, Android uses the Linux kernel as a > base. > > Has anyone out there built Android completely from sources? I'd > appreciate a chance to chat with someone familiar with setting up a > complete source build environment. > > Thanks in advance.
Yes, I have built Android from Source, both Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and CyanogenMod (CM) I have not built using a LFS host, BUT the Android Source sets up its own toolchain really you just need a compiler to compile that, LFS should work just fine ( you will need sun JDK6 for Android 2.3+ , sun JDK5 for anything lower ) With regard to the custom the Kernel, it is mostly specific to the device's hardware The java virtual machine is based on DalvikVM , The native linux bins are linked against bionic ( some weird libc implementation that I know little about ) Android itself is not too much of a problem The real challenge that Developers in the Open Source community face is talking with the hardware The Kernel side of things is not ( or shouldn't be ) an issue, as the GPL ensures the kernel source is released, however some companies do 'drop the ball', src is not released promptly and often contains bugs and won't compile/work. Libraries that talk with hardware , such as cam, gps, telephony etc, are usually closed/proprietary and have to be reverse engineered some companies are more helpful than others, for instance Sony Ericsson has recently been very helpful and I believe (*) offered some direct assistance. I think (*) Samsung have open source 'drivers' available in AOSP's repos (*) take with a pinch of salt, I have not researched these facts as I do not own relevant devices, just read bits third hand My 'work' with android is very limited, I started by writing a few shell scripts and then tweaked some CM code to add a specific feature ( long story ) I'm not sure what your final goal is, or what your client can.provide. But I think your best bet would be to look towards CyanogenMod http://www.cyanogenmod.com/ http://review.cyanogenmod.com/ http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Main_Page irc, twitter and g+ may get you in touch with people who have the specific talents you require I wouldn't bother with the CM forums, mostly end users demanding features/themes and device support http://forum.xda-developers.com/ is probably even less relevant with http://rootzwiki.com being much the same AOSP http://source.android.com/source/index.html They officially support Ubuntu, but like I said all you need is a toolchain to build their toolchain look in vendor/ and device/ to see how to set things up for your Device ( looks complicated but once you get your head round it.. it isn't that bad ) Regardless I don't feel anything is directly related to LFS -- Firerat Talented, Witty And Thoughtful .. is how most describe me. -- http://linuxfromscratch.org/mailman/listinfo/lfs-support FAQ: http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/lfs/faq.html Unsubscribe: See the above information page
