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But they're still based on that kernel that's hosted at that Linux website? Do you consider ChromeOS a Linux distro? it's based on Gentoo.

by zamnos 4y ago

palata 4y ago
I don't know about ChromeOS, but I would definitely consider that Android is not a Linux distribution. To me, a Linux distribution is an OS where, given that I am very comfortable with another Linux distribution, I will quickly be able to find my way around. Does Android have services? As root, can I start/stop them? Can I install libraries somewhere and use them somehow? How do I package an app (other than by running "build" in Android-Studio and letting the magic happen)? Could I install my own window manager? => I don't know any of that, so it's not a Linux distro. As a comparison, SteamOS is based on Arch Linux and has a particular setup (with a read-only "core" partition I guess?), but I am pretty sure that if you give me a shell, I will feel like I am in a Linux distro.
- charcircuit 4y ago
  >Does Android have services? Yes, every app can define its own services. >As root, can I start/stop them? Yes, you use `am startservice <service>` and `am stopservice`. >How do I package an app (other than by running "build" in Android-Studio and letting the magic happen) If you mean to manually do what the android grable plugin does you can manually call javac to compile your Activity, you can manually call d8 to turn the class into a dex, you can manually call aapt2 to compile your resources, you can manually zip all of it up, you can manually call zip align on that zip, and you can manually call apksigner to sign the apk. >Could I install my own window manager? Android's window manager service is built into system_server. You can't really install your own. Someone could edit WindowManagerService.java, share it with you, and you can rebuild system_server to include that.
  - palata 4y ago
    Interesting, thanks for the answers! Still, to me, this is as close to a Linux distribution as macOS. But yeah I'd like to learn more about Android. Unfortunately I haven't found documentation that got me started. Maybe it is there, but when searching about Android, I tend to get the Android SDK, not Android-as-an-OS stuff. If you have any resources to share then, it would be nice :-).
    - charcircuit 4y ago
      Here is the documentation for AOSP: https://source.android.com/docs https://source.android.com/docs There are also some books about Android's internals, but they are somewhat outdated. One such book is Android Security Internals and is about Android KitKat (2014). Android has evolved since then, but the basic concepts are the same. https://ia600608.us.archive.org/29/items/android-internals/android-internals/android-security-internals.pdf https://ia600608.us.archive.org/29/items/android-internals/a... If you want fully up to date information about something not in the official docs you will probably just have to dig in to the source code. https://cs.android.com/ https://cs.android.com/
    - zamnos 4y ago
      There's no denying the userland's different, there's just this notion where one's called GNU/Linux and the other ART/Linux (Android RunTime) but the thing they share in common is the Linux kernel, hence the name.
      - palata 4y ago
        Sure. Yeah I guess it's not very important. But since we're here :-)... My point was really that if I you say "I work on a Linux distribution", I think about something like Debian/Fedora/Ubuntu/... I could be pedantic and say "oh, is that a GNU/Linux distribution?", to which you could answer "nope, it's Alpine". And then we could debate on exactly what is required to call it "GNU/Linux" and not "something-else/Linux". If now you showed me your computer running Android, I would honestly be very surprised. Why didn't you say "Android" instead of "a Linux distribution"? If you tell me "I run Linux", I won't say "oh, do you not run a userland then?" either. Linux is a kernel, but it is also the name commonly given to a group of OSes that are very similar (and that are commonly referred to as "Linux distributions"). Android is not part of that group.

But they're still based on that kernel that's hosted at that Linux website? Do you consider ChromeOS a Linux distro? it's based on Gentoo.

by zamnos 4y ago

But they're still based on that kernel that's hosted at that Linux website? Do you consider ChromeOS a Linux distro? it's based on Gentoo.

palata 4y ago

I don't know about ChromeOS, but I would definitely consider that Android is not a Linux distribution. To me, a Linux distribution is an OS where, given that I am very comfortable with another Linux distribution, I will quickly be able to find my way around. Does Android have services? As root, can I start/stop them? Can I install libraries somewhere and use them somehow? How do I package an app (other than by running "build" in Android-Studio and letting the magic happen)? Could I install my own window manager? => I don't know any of that, so it's not a Linux distro. As a comparison, SteamOS is based on Arch Linux and has a particular setup (with a read-only "core" partition I guess?), but I am pretty sure that if you give me a shell, I will feel like I am in a Linux distro.

charcircuit 4y ago
>Does Android have services? Yes, every app can define its own services. >As root, can I start/stop them? Yes, you use `am startservice <service>` and `am stopservice`. >How do I package an app (other than by running "build" in Android-Studio and letting the magic happen) If you mean to manually do what the android grable plugin does you can manually call javac to compile your Activity, you can manually call d8 to turn the class into a dex, you can manually call aapt2 to compile your resources, you can manually zip all of it up, you can manually call zip align on that zip, and you can manually call apksigner to sign the apk. >Could I install my own window manager? Android's window manager service is built into system_server. You can't really install your own. Someone could edit WindowManagerService.java, share it with you, and you can rebuild system_server to include that.
- palata 4y ago
  Interesting, thanks for the answers! Still, to me, this is as close to a Linux distribution as macOS. But yeah I'd like to learn more about Android. Unfortunately I haven't found documentation that got me started. Maybe it is there, but when searching about Android, I tend to get the Android SDK, not Android-as-an-OS stuff. If you have any resources to share then, it would be nice :-).
  - charcircuit 4y ago
    Here is the documentation for AOSP: https://source.android.com/docs https://source.android.com/docs There are also some books about Android's internals, but they are somewhat outdated. One such book is Android Security Internals and is about Android KitKat (2014). Android has evolved since then, but the basic concepts are the same. https://ia600608.us.archive.org/29/items/android-internals/android-internals/android-security-internals.pdf https://ia600608.us.archive.org/29/items/android-internals/a... If you want fully up to date information about something not in the official docs you will probably just have to dig in to the source code. https://cs.android.com/ https://cs.android.com/
  - zamnos 4y ago
    There's no denying the userland's different, there's just this notion where one's called GNU/Linux and the other ART/Linux (Android RunTime) but the thing they share in common is the Linux kernel, hence the name.
    - palata 4y ago
      Sure. Yeah I guess it's not very important. But since we're here :-)... My point was really that if I you say "I work on a Linux distribution", I think about something like Debian/Fedora/Ubuntu/... I could be pedantic and say "oh, is that a GNU/Linux distribution?", to which you could answer "nope, it's Alpine". And then we could debate on exactly what is required to call it "GNU/Linux" and not "something-else/Linux". If now you showed me your computer running Android, I would honestly be very surprised. Why didn't you say "Android" instead of "a Linux distribution"? If you tell me "I run Linux", I won't say "oh, do you not run a userland then?" either. Linux is a kernel, but it is also the name commonly given to a group of OSes that are very similar (and that are commonly referred to as "Linux distributions"). Android is not part of that group.