5 ms·

Most people don't really consider Android "Linux" despite having the same kernel and many libraries in common.

by boomboomsubban 5y ago

EvilEy3 5y ago
Because muh libc and it's not using some obscure barely working DE.
- edgyquant 5y ago
  I think it’s because to most people Linux = GNU/Linux
  - dividedbyzero 5y ago
    I'd be surprised if there were more than a tiny tiny minority of people who even know what you're talking about
    - opan 5y ago
      GNU/Linux as a term is often used for precisely these situations. It evokes the image of something like Debian or Arch on a desktop or server. Very distinct from Android. I can use a terminal on Android and use a few familiar tools, but the same is true of macOS.
    - edgyquant 5y ago
      The type of people who are likely to hold the opinion that Android isn’t a real Linux definitely do, which is what we’re discussing here.
- Cloudef 5y ago
  I actually have written bionic -> glibc compatibility layer. https://github.com/Cloudef/android2gnulinux https://github.com/Cloudef/android2gnulinux If it's a native binary, there's good chance you can run it with this. JNI/Java stuff is mostly unity and even that's very proof of concept.
  - dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago
    Thank you, it looks very interesting.
- otabdeveloper4 5y ago
  Call me back when you can compile a Linux program to run on Android. Shouldn't that be the deciding yardstick for OS compatibility?
  - hiccuphippo 5y ago
    Install one of those chroot apps that give you a distro's package manager on it and then you can. I once did to compile a Qt program on arm. Just install the gcc package and compile away. It was way easier than trying to set up cross-compilation in my Linux box at the time.
    - otabdeveloper4 5y ago
      You can also install a VM on MacOS and compile Linux apps, too. Does that make MacOS a Linux?
simondotau 5y ago
Yes, but surely most people would see the family resemblance between the binary distributions of Mint and Raspbian, for example.
1cvmask 5y ago
I always did. In fact there were other linux based distros for different form factors including mobile. One was the LiMo (linux mobile) foundation.
pjmlp 5y ago
What libraries? https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/stable_apis https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/stable_apis Anything that isn't Android specific on that list, works in any OS with a ISO C or ISO C++ compiler. Then there is the Java/Kotlin userspace. Anything not part of those APIs is considered private API, and Android is free to just kill the application. https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-7.0-changes#ndk https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-... Then we have the regular Linux drivers that are considered legacy since Android 8. > HALs expressed in HAL interface definition language (HIDL) or Android interface definition language (AIDL). These HALs replace both conventional and legacy HALs used in earlier versions of Android. In a Binderized HAL, the Android framework and HALs communicate with each other using binder inter-process communication (IPC) calls. All devices launching with Android 8.0 or later must support binderized HALs only. https://source.android.com/devices/architecture/hal-types https://source.android.com/devices/architecture/hal-types Many like to think Android's usage of the Linux kernel matters, while the hard reality is that ART can be deployed on top of Fuchsia, and 99% of Android applications will keep on running without changes, probably recompiling might be required for the NDK parts, that is all.

Most people don't really consider Android "Linux" despite having the same kernel and many libraries in common.

EvilEy3 5y ago

Because muh libc and it's not using some obscure barely working DE.

edgyquant 5y ago
I think it’s because to most people Linux = GNU/Linux
- dividedbyzero 5y ago
  I'd be surprised if there were more than a tiny tiny minority of people who even know what you're talking about
  - opan 5y ago
    GNU/Linux as a term is often used for precisely these situations. It evokes the image of something like Debian or Arch on a desktop or server. Very distinct from Android. I can use a terminal on Android and use a few familiar tools, but the same is true of macOS.
  - edgyquant 5y ago
    The type of people who are likely to hold the opinion that Android isn’t a real Linux definitely do, which is what we’re discussing here.
Cloudef 5y ago
I actually have written bionic -> glibc compatibility layer. https://github.com/Cloudef/android2gnulinux https://github.com/Cloudef/android2gnulinux If it's a native binary, there's good chance you can run it with this. JNI/Java stuff is mostly unity and even that's very proof of concept.
- dvfjsdhgfv 5y ago
  Thank you, it looks very interesting.
otabdeveloper4 5y ago
Call me back when you can compile a Linux program to run on Android. Shouldn't that be the deciding yardstick for OS compatibility?
- hiccuphippo 5y ago
  Install one of those chroot apps that give you a distro's package manager on it and then you can. I once did to compile a Qt program on arm. Just install the gcc package and compile away. It was way easier than trying to set up cross-compilation in my Linux box at the time.
  - otabdeveloper4 5y ago
    You can also install a VM on MacOS and compile Linux apps, too. Does that make MacOS a Linux?

simondotau 5y ago

Yes, but surely most people would see the family resemblance between the binary distributions of Mint and Raspbian, for example.

1cvmask 5y ago

I always did. In fact there were other linux based distros for different form factors including mobile. One was the LiMo (linux mobile) foundation.

pjmlp 5y ago

What libraries? https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/stable_apis https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/stable_apis Anything that isn't Android specific on that list, works in any OS with a ISO C or ISO C++ compiler. Then there is the Java/Kotlin userspace. Anything not part of those APIs is considered private API, and Android is free to just kill the application. https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-7.0-changes#ndk https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-... Then we have the regular Linux drivers that are considered legacy since Android 8. > HALs expressed in HAL interface definition language (HIDL) or Android interface definition language (AIDL). These HALs replace both conventional and legacy HALs used in earlier versions of Android. In a Binderized HAL, the Android framework and HALs communicate with each other using binder inter-process communication (IPC) calls. All devices launching with Android 8.0 or later must support binderized HALs only. https://source.android.com/devices/architecture/hal-types https://source.android.com/devices/architecture/hal-types Many like to think Android's usage of the Linux kernel matters, while the hard reality is that ART can be deployed on top of Fuchsia, and 99% of Android applications will keep on running without changes, probably recompiling might be required for the NDK parts, that is all.