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> I actually really like Android as an operating system, the internals seem remarkably well thought out and ideal for the mobile use case Just no. I developed

by fzeindl 2mo ago

> I actually really like Android as an operating system, the internals seem remarkably well thought out and ideal for the mobile use case Just no. I developed for android for a long time and I have seldomly seen a worse and more confusing SDK and code base. I can give you many examples but the core layouting algorithm having quadratic complexity with the number of widgets and the single base-view class having 60.000 lines of code are just the tip of the iceberg.

palata 2mo ago
> I developed for android for a long time When was that?
- fzeindl 2mo ago
  I stopped in 2018. I realize that a lot has been done since then, but the base code wasn‘t changed, otherwise old apps wouldn‘t run anymore. My gripe with android is that I think it wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software. Just enable the debug mode to see what portion of your screen refreshes and repaints and stand back in awe while nothing changes and you still get hundreds of repaints.
  - palata 2mo ago
    > Just enable the debug mode to see what portion of your screen refreshes and repaints and stand back in awe while nothing changes and you still get hundreds of repaints. And you are positive that this hasn't change in almost a decade? > My gripe with android is that I think it wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software. As opposed to what? This thread is about Linux on Mobile. Are you saying that Linux on Mobile is a lot more efficient than Android? Like do you get more battery life with Linux on Mobile for the same usage?
    - fzeindl 2mo ago
      > And you are positive that this hasn't change in almost a decade? No, it is a guess. > As opposed to what? This thread is about Linux on Mobile. Are you saying that Linux on Mobile is a lot more efficient than Android? Opposed to iOS. Android is largely Linux, I think Linux is great and highly performant, just the Android SDK isn‘t.
      - palata 2mo ago
        > Opposed to iOS So you say that "[Android] wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software as opposed to iOS". How do you measure that? In my experience, people who have smartphone need to charge them every one or two days, and the battery gets worse over time but it usually stays usable for a few years. If Android was "a lot less efficient", I would expect to see a difference in battery life. Do you? > Android is largely Linux Android (the OS) is largely NOT Linux (the OS). And if you compare Android to Linux on mobile, in terms of battery life, it is extremely different. It's pretty much what makes Linux on mobile a no-go for pretty much everyone (in good approximation). You are allowed to not like Android or the Android codebase, but it is incorrect to say that Android is inefficient.
  - vrganj 2mo ago
    Well, neither Views nor their layouting code are really used anymore - it's all Compose now!

by fzeindl 2mo ago

palata 2mo ago

> I developed for android for a long time When was that?

fzeindl 2mo ago
I stopped in 2018. I realize that a lot has been done since then, but the base code wasn‘t changed, otherwise old apps wouldn‘t run anymore. My gripe with android is that I think it wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software. Just enable the debug mode to see what portion of your screen refreshes and repaints and stand back in awe while nothing changes and you still get hundreds of repaints.
- palata 2mo ago
  > Just enable the debug mode to see what portion of your screen refreshes and repaints and stand back in awe while nothing changes and you still get hundreds of repaints. And you are positive that this hasn't change in almost a decade? > My gripe with android is that I think it wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software. As opposed to what? This thread is about Linux on Mobile. Are you saying that Linux on Mobile is a lot more efficient than Android? Like do you get more battery life with Linux on Mobile for the same usage?
  - fzeindl 2mo ago
    > And you are positive that this hasn't change in almost a decade? No, it is a guess. > As opposed to what? This thread is about Linux on Mobile. Are you saying that Linux on Mobile is a lot more efficient than Android? Opposed to iOS. Android is largely Linux, I think Linux is great and highly performant, just the Android SDK isn‘t.
    - palata 2mo ago
      > Opposed to iOS So you say that "[Android] wastes a lot of resources by being very inefficient in software as opposed to iOS". How do you measure that? In my experience, people who have smartphone need to charge them every one or two days, and the battery gets worse over time but it usually stays usable for a few years. If Android was "a lot less efficient", I would expect to see a difference in battery life. Do you? > Android is largely Linux Android (the OS) is largely NOT Linux (the OS). And if you compare Android to Linux on mobile, in terms of battery life, it is extremely different. It's pretty much what makes Linux on mobile a no-go for pretty much everyone (in good approximation). You are allowed to not like Android or the Android codebase, but it is incorrect to say that Android is inefficient.
- vrganj 2mo ago
  Well, neither Views nor their layouting code are really used anymore - it's all Compose now!