3 ms·
And Google has done that -- for instance, they use Binder for IPC instead of dbus/kdbus on Android. But every time Google does that, they pay a price for using
by cwyers 9y ago
And Google has done that -- for instance, they use Binder for IPC instead of dbus/kdbus on Android. But every time Google does that, they pay a price for using Linux, as they have to maintain anything in the kernel that doesn't make it upstream.
The reason Google cares about this, as noted elsewhere, is that there is no stable kernel ABI for drivers, so vendors who release drivers-as-blobs, fail to release the driver source code (yes, it's a GPL violation; yes, it happens anyways) or otherwise pin their driver to a specific ABI need to release new drivers every time the kernel changes. Google would love to release Android versions independently of drivers, the way Windows works.
- EddieRingle 9y ago> Google would love to release Android versions independently of drivers, the way Windows works. Which they'll be able to do with Project Treble: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/05/here-comes-treble-modular-base-for.html https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/05/here-comes...
- c8g 9y agoit won't update the kernel part.
- swiley 9y agoIf they had stuck with the APIs and ABIs literally everyone else uses they wouldn't have this problem in the first place. Most people's userspace is not tied this heavily to the kernel version because the APIs and ABIs there are fairly stable.