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Dear all,
Why don't we create some tutorial and advices for new developers who love X1 and Android but don't have much knowledge about Linux kernel, Gitorious...
I have cloned the Kernel repository but still don't know where to start with
I think many of us want to help too
Thanks for reading
Nice Step, i will be with you in this project and wish more devs will come with us.
Thanks
There are instructions on how to compile the kernel on the wiki:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/inde...ngx20.thex20.Kernelx20.fromx20.thex20.Sources
I added instructions to get wifi working a week or so ago.
I too want to cook an Android dist from scratch, we will need to go back and figure out what has been done (i.e required modifications to fix the screen flip)
It will be very useful to have this info on the wiki as one may need to do it all again for future Android releases (i.e 2.2, 2.3)
edit: There is some technical info at http://www.htc-android.com/viewforum.php?f=5
I hope you can make goot work on it (fingercrossing)
I only have windows programming knowledge some C++ knowledge. So, is there anyone can tell me about the environment for develop a kernel, which knowledge do i need to focus on ^^ I still don't familiar with all those thing yet, I just want to help and i know i have to improve my knowledge for that
I like the idea of having a HOWTO, so that everyone can join in development. But i am not sure, that it is even possible. It is too big.
Downloading/cloning sourcecode, setting up build environment and cross-compiler and building a linux kernel is actually the easy part. A good guideline was postet by Tremere, and google is always your friend
Now the REAL WORK begins. Linux kernel source code is not very well documented. And the kovsky hardware specs are not documented at all. Well, some chips have been identified and datasheets where found, but many things are simple and painfull trial-and-error and may never work at all.
Then is the problem of finding the right source files in the source-tree. It helps looking into git-log and analyse changes made.
Then is the problem of data-structures and functions defined and used all over the source. There is no guide or something that explains what structure is used when and where. If you are lucky, you find some irc-chat-logs
Then is the problem that you can not debug, only add messages and stuff.
Then is the problem on how to approach, lets say GPS or Camera. You have to know about GPIOs, bus-systems, driver-models, ...
Then is the problem that one day has only 24 hours
Anyway, i would like to see, that you prove me wrong!
it's not about proving you're wrong, it's all about proving you CAN !!!! you've bring it far from the start, I dont think that the battery or camera can scare you!!!!
Vdelf I know you have worked alot on this, I put all my trust in you!!! I cant help you becaus I dont know how!!!
so I support you more than anybody because I really really want all this Xperoid to be fixed!!
vdelf said:
I like the idea of having a HOWTO, so that everyone can join in development. But i am not sure, that it is even possible. It is too big.
Downloading/cloning sourcecode, setting up build environment and cross-compiler and building a linux kernel is actually the easy part. A good guideline was postet by Tremere, and google is always your friend
Now the REAL WORK begins. Linux kernel source code is not very well documented. And the kovsky hardware specs are not documented at all. Well, some chips have been identified and datasheets where found, but many things are simple and painfull trial-and-error and may never work at all.
Then is the problem of finding the right source files in the source-tree. It helps looking into git-log and analyse changes made.
Then is the problem of data-structures and functions defined and used all over the source. There is no guide or something that explains what structure is used when and where. If you are lucky, you find some irc-chat-logs
Then is the problem that you can not debug, only add messages and stuff.
Then is the problem on how to approach, lets say GPS or Camera. You have to know about GPIOs, bus-systems, driver-models, ...
Then is the problem that one day has only 24 hours
Anyway, i would like to see, that you prove me wrong!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your advices
if building the kernel is the easy part i'm a long looong way from being useful xD
probably my x86_64 bit fedora doesn't like me very much, got stuck with glibc dependencies errors or some wrong step at the arm installation... ¿could an x86 virtualized ubuntu save my day? as ive read some of the first testing was done in a debian distro, so ill try my luck with it.
damn... learning is fun... i just hope my Xperia doesn't learn how to burn while i'm playing with it xD
monovaldes said:
if building the kernel is the easy part i'm a long looong way from being useful xD
probably my x86_64 bit fedora doesn't like me very much, got stuck with glibc dependencies errors or some wrong step at the arm installation... ¿could an x86 virtualized ubuntu save my day? as ive read some of the first testing was done in a debian distro, so ill try my luck with it.
damn... learning is fun... i just hope my Xperia doesn't learn how to burn while i'm playing with it xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A while ago, someone (can't remember exactly) posted a link to a linux vmware image for kovsky development -
you could start with that, although any linux system should be no problem, since there are no distro -specific
"packages" to use in this kernel development ( possibly except git )
Hell, I don't even use a VM - I have a slackware 12 install running on coLinux
under windows 7 and it works a treat!
angusmcb said:
A while ago, someone (can't remember exactly) posted a link to a linux vmware image for kovsky development -
you could start with that, although any linux system should be no problem, since there are no distro -specific
"packages" to use in this kernel development ( possibly except git )
Hell, I don't even use a VM - I have a slackware 12 install running on coLinux
under windows 7 and it works a treat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, that is a very nice alternative for users which don't like linux messing with their drives (not myself though xD)... thanks anyway
couldn't really tell which was the actual problem for me, i just got it working fine after installing an i686 distro on top of the x86_64 one
and... now comes the easy part, right? haha
will get onto studying
I've been installing Gentoo on my X1
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Gentoo_on_HTC
The good thing about Gentoo is although the compilation takes forever (especially under an emulated ARM chroot!), it allows us to build a system from first principles and also build packages to our needs.
A lot of this has been googling for what people have done on the Xperia and other HTC devices, particularly with the Ubuntu ports.
Hopefully all the knowledge I've gained will make it real easy to get MeeGo running.
ummm i know this is not related to what xda doess but i want to know if there are things like ROMS for windows 7 PCs? i wannt to like customize my computerr. ty
Do you mean like themes and such? Theres really no such thing as a "ROM" for PC unless you're talking about operating systems (which there are plenty of from Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, OSX, Windows, google's new netbook OS).
I mean you can get streamlined versions of windows but they are normally pirated unless you can make your own.
But the only way of customizing your computer is to get different themes and/or to build your own computer (which is what I do).
so like the max i can do is change my themes? because thats kinda boring. im not a proffesianal anything with computers but i know some things but i doubt i can build anything like that.
Moved to Off Topic section
You can customize your desktop with Rainmeter. There's a ton of skins for it at deviantart.
axel eff said:
You can customize your desktop with Rainmeter. There's a ton of skins for it at deviantart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea programs like that work too. I haven't used rainmeter but I have used Windows Blinds and that works pretty well.
Install some form of linux.
yeah, you can basically do anything you want with linux. You can even make your own os based on linux
feeling like i got a week worth of noob-overdose from this thread alone
I have 7 themed to all hell, but there's no alternative kernel to the NT kernel. With Os X, there's Darwin, or Legacy.
Hi all of you
I am a n00b when it comes to Linux and all related stuff. I want to install one this weekend with intention of developing, and learning it to level when i could start working on my own, or helping with other ROMs out there. So there it is my question:
is there any significant difference between linux distros that one would benefit me more with completing above task or i should just grab any it it would be ok?
I have a fedore 13, ubuntu and slackwware 13.1 ready to install. Is any of them good or i should look for something else?
Thanks to all of you in advance for replying and helping me here.
Sorry if i double posted.
Regards
Kirior
kirior said:
Hi all of you
I am a n00b when it comes to Linux and all related stuff. I want to install one this weekend with intention of developing, and learning it to level when i could start working on my own, or helping with other ROMs out there. So there it is my question:
is there any significant difference between linux distros that one would benefit me more with completing above task or i should just grab any it it would be ok?
I have a fedore 13, ubuntu and slackwware 13.1 ready to install. Is any of them good or i should look for something else?
Thanks to all of you in advance for replying and helping me here.
Sorry if i double posted.
Regards
Kirior
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always start with Ubuntu as it is pretty user friendly and well supported/documented then later move onto other distros as you see fit.
Well, I don't know what Slackware's release cycle is, but 13.1 came out last May. It's nearly a year old now.
Fedora 14 is the current version, and (when my PC is actually functional) it works extremely well. You will want to refer to:
mjmwired.net: Fedora 14 Personal Setup Guide (this covers almost everything you need to get started);
mjmwired.net: MPlayer - Fedora Guide (this gives you the process of D/Ling, compiling and installing the LAME encoder, amongst other useful things); and
The Unofficial Fedora FAQ (which is another excellent resource for answering questions and setting things up, but I'd start with MJM's stuff first).
Ubuntu has two simultaneously-current versions: 10.04 LTS (which means it is the Long Term Support version that many businesses and individuals standardize on and is good for 2 years) and 10.10, which is the most current 6 month release version. Ubuntu releases in April and October of every year, which is why you get x.04 and x.10 version numbers. You will want to refer to help.ubuntu.com: Restricted Formats and I would also recommend going into the Synaptic Package Manager and installing all three of the following: Ubuntu Restricted Extras, Kubuntu Restricted Extras, and Xubuntu Restricted Extras, because each has a couple things the other doesn't.
As far as "which would I recommend", that's a really wide-open question, and I guarantee as others weigh in here, you will get a LOT of varied opinions from people. In general, I would simply tell you this:
Ubuntu is based on Debian's core components. Debian is noted for stability and wide ranging hardware support. Canonical has done a really good job adding a lot of "spit and polish" to this, and it is actually a very good distro, but they have rubbed a good portion of the existing Linux community the wrong way because of their "embrace and extend a huge tent" philosophy (the objection here generally being that the Linux community really doesn't want a bunch of "Windows idiots" and "Mac OS X idiots" as members) and because they have often not contributed their enhancements and other development efforts back up to the project sources they're using (this is referred to as "contributing upstream") like they should have. Nevertheless, Ubuntu does have a lot of positive things to recommend it.
Fedora, which is actually a spun-off project from RedHat, is amongst the older distributions, and is somewhat more cutting-edge than other distros, such as RedHat itself, or Ubuntu, etc. It is an RPM-based distribution and has one of the largest communities of users out there next to Ubuntu. It is renowned for contributing upstream and is a good and reliable distro. However, as you can see from the list I posted above, you will have to do a LOT of extra initial configuring work because Fedora's philosophy is to ship with pretty much only F/OSS components. Though they certainly don't prohibit or flat-out discourage their users from adding in other non-F/OSS components, such as commercial 3D graphics drivers, video/audio codecs, etc., they don't include them.
Whichever you decide, good luck!
Oh, and one more thing: Whichever you go with, become a member of the associated message board (Ubuntu = ubuntuforums.org; Fedora = fedoraforum.org; etc.) because there is a WEALTH of information and WIKIs and many many many questions already answered.
i would suggest linux mint.
it's a polished version based on ubuntu with its own, just excellent, control center.
It also has a bunch of nice graphical gimicks.
For new users I would recommend ubuntu our linux mint.
Sent from my Shoe.... I mean my Samsung Epic
Ok
Thanks guys, I will go with Mint for now.
My next question is what would be the best way to learn how to do everything from the command line level? I was thinking of opening one in background and searching, doing stuff in GUI. That way i should be able to see what commands open, copy and so on so on. So if i would go to settings and change something i should be able to see an line of commands in terminal window, is that correct or i am lost and this will never happen?
Thanks for bearing with me and all the advices.
Regards
Kirior
I've been using ubuntu for about 3 years. During this interval I tried other distros, but I found Ubuntu the best. I also develop on it and I don't have any problems.
Sent from my GT-I5700 using XDA Premium App
i went for ubuntu after all. Trying to get my head around. I have no idea if i have set my mount stuff correctly.
I did it like that
ext2 for system files mount /
ext 3 for jinkl something filesystem (or such) mount /usr
ext4 for same as above mount /usr/local
and swap and there was no mount stuff to assign.
hope it is ok.
is signing up to ubuntu one a good idea?
I'm using Debian (previous distribution Ubuntu) and I'm satisfied.
I use fedora, but I think ubuntu will be the right choose for you!
kirior said:
Ok
Thanks guys, I will go with Mint for now.
My next question is what would be the best way to learn how to do everything from the command line level? I was thinking of opening one in background and searching, doing stuff in GUI. That way i should be able to see what commands open, copy and so on so on. So if i would go to settings and change something i should be able to see an line of commands in terminal window, is that correct or i am lost and this will never happen?
Thanks for bearing with me and all the advices.
Regards
Kirior
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The terminal will not display what happens in the gui. The best thing to do is find a linux wiki that tells you basic commands and use them as often as possible. Even though Ubuntu uses Synaptic to install programs, you should learn to install things from source.
kirior said:
i went for ubuntu after all. Trying to get my head around. I have no idea if i have set my mount stuff correctly.
I did it like that
ext2 for system files mount /
ext 3 for jinkl something filesystem (or such) mount /usr
ext4 for same as above mount /usr/local
and swap and there was no mount stuff to assign.
hope it is ok.
is signing up to ubuntu one a good idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will work fine, but it's a little odd, imo. You should definitely read the Ubuntu wiki and learn what you're doing. All of this stuff is explained all over the internet. I recommend using www.google.com/linux for all of your linux-related searches.
Even if you decided to go with Ubuntu, you can find a lot of info in the wikis of other distros. I use Archlinux myself, and their wiki is one of the best out there. The Gentoo wiki is also very good.
I've used Arch Linux as well in the past, and out of all the distributions I've tried it was my favourite. The only thing with Arch Linux is it's not a simple click and install process, you have to pretty much build the graphical interface yourself (which is half the fun in my opinion).
Not only do you have to build the GUI of your Arch system, but you have to decide on multimedia backends, networking tools and many other things that make a desktop system work. I agree that this is half the fun, and what you learn about Linux by installing and running Arch makes troubleshooting a lot easier when you run into problems.
thanks guys i will definitely have a look into that disrto.
thanks again to all that replied and still open to new suggestions
regards
kirior
Captainkrtek said:
You can always start with Ubuntu as it is pretty user friendly and well supported/documented then later move onto other distros as you see fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linux Ubuntu 10.10 FTW
Hey guys,
Does anyone know if there is a way to compile source code right on the device? I remember some people asking for this way back in the day but it wasn't really practical on such small devices. With a xoom and a bt keyboard though, it's almost as easy as using a regular laptop. I know there are a few different compilers for the iphone(c, c++, java) so I'm sure it is possible. I haven't seen anything but perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong places.
Thanks,
Samuel Maskell
so I'll take that as a no..
I'd love to work on this but I wouldn't really know where to start
I do have some programming experience
but I don't really know anything about how compilers are made
besides a basic overview we did in my computer architecture course
In theory, if you rooted and installed ubuntu, you could install the dev toolchain/eclipse. But it's crappy enough on 2gb of memory, 1gb on the xoom would be ridiculous.
I installed Ubuntu/eclipse on my cr48. It's barely usable.
Developing for android requires a desktop.
That being said, sometimes I make small code changes and build from the cli on my cr48.
smaskell said:
so I'll take that as a no..
I'd love to work on this but I wouldn't really know where to start
I do have some programming experience
but I don't really know anything about how compilers are made
besides a basic overview we did in my computer architecture course
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I really don't see eclipse running very well on a xoom
It doesn't even run that well on my desktop with 4gb of ram and 3.2ghz 6-core processor
like you said, developing for android requires a desktop
but I wasn't really thinking about making android apps on the xoom(although that would be awesome)
I'm mostly just thinking of simple cli programs
something like this would be great
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BDylxLzUEM
Edit: skip to about 1 minute in. the first part is just him writing the code on his desktop and then copying the source file over to his iphone. I don't see any reason why he couldn't have written the code on his iphone though
Your best bet would be to setup a box (with your compiler) somewhere and SSH in. Edit file locally, push to box, SSH in, compile, pull results back.
If you don't have a *nix box handy, you can try something like Slicehost.
that's actually not a bad plan
I use my school's computers to compile things through ssh sometimes anyways
still, I think would be pretty cool to compile right on the device
if it can be done for iphone, it can (and should) be done for android
smaskell said:
that's actually not a bad plan
I use my school's computers to compile things through ssh sometimes anyways
still, I think would be pretty cool to compile right on the device
if it can be done for iphone, it can (and should) be done for android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can compile applications using the NDK, but you still have to be on a non-Xoom box to do this.
In theory, it should be possible for you to cross-compile gcc for arm and push that to the xoom to do your compiling there. This is a bit more complicated, however, as you can't just specify --ARCH=arm to gcc's ./configure script.
Hey everyone,
So I want to start using Linux, I've used it a few times in the past (Live CD's, Asus EEE Machines etc) But never as a standalone OS. I have an old laptop that isn't a bad spec that I want to run it on but I don't know which distro to go with.
I'm going to be using it as a everyday machine (web browsing etc) Though the option to do more complicated things on it (build from the CM Github etc) would be nice.
I also don't want a baby fed/watered down version, I want to learn Linux & how it works so I can become a better PC Technician.
So my question is, Which version would you recommend?
Thanks in advance
Ubuntu 10.10 is a Solid Distro ... 11.04 is the current, however no more GNOME interface..
Maverick and Natty both have really solid support and community backing ..
So Check out Ubuntu!
Linux mint is a nice off spin of ubuntu, still has gnome, and any other flavor desktop you might want. I perfect kde myself. I find it easier on the eyes and qt is easy to customize.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
i like linux mint
brian.dore said:
Linux mint is a nice off spin of ubuntu, still has gnome, and any other flavor desktop you might want. I perfect kde myself. I find it easier on the eyes and qt is easy to customize.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap . Mint is solid! Kubuntu is another commonly used KDE environment
Gonzo__ said:
Ubuntu 10.10 is a Solid Distro ... 11.04 is the current, however no more GNOME interface..
Maverick and Natty both have really solid support and community backing ..
So Check out Ubuntu!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been reading up alot & it does seam Ubuntu is the best option but what is the disadvantaged of the missing GNOME Interface?
brian.dore said:
Linux mint is a nice off spin of ubuntu, still has gnome, and any other flavor desktop you might want. I perfect kde myself. I find it easier on the eyes and qt is easy to customize.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dexter93 said:
i like linux mint
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonzo__ said:
Yeap . Mint is solid! Kubuntu is another commonly used KDE environment
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha Linux Mint is the LiveCD I have used
KarlosTheJackal said:
I've been reading up alot & it does seam Ubuntu is the best option but what is the disadvantaged of the missing GNOME Interface?
haha Linux Mint is the LiveCD I have used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really going to be a preference thing.. 11.04 uses 'Unity' as the Default Environment.
I did not like it . but that's just me.
10.10 still has loads of support. so you could def try it out and 'upgrade' to 11.04 should you want teh newest!
Don't go unity. Not just yet. Maybe after it gets a bit better. a bit more stable perhaps.
But yes I believe ubuntu for starters is the best mostly for its huge community.You'll find plenty of answers.
Go for 10.10 or 10.04 lts. Eventually if you get in to it you can move to more hardcore distros like fedora.
mprou said:
Don't go unity. Not just yet. Maybe after it gets a bit better. a bit more stable perhaps.
But yes I believe ubuntu for starters is the best mostly for its huge community.You'll find plenty of answers.
Go for 10.10 or 10.04 lts. Eventually if you get in to it you can move to more hardcore distros like fedora.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and then even more hardcore ... Arch , Gentoo ... then LFS .. haha . learn your terminal commands
You could also check out openSuSE it's a linux Novell project.
Another decent distro though not one of my favorites is Fedora Core
mprou said:
Don't go unity. Not just yet. Maybe after it gets a bit better. a bit more stable perhaps.
But yes I believe ubuntu for starters is the best mostly for its huge community.You'll find plenty of answers.
Go for 10.10 or 10.04 lts. Eventually if you get in to it you can move to more hardcore distros like fedora.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you recommended going for Ubuntu 10.10? What's so wrong with this unity? Is it that buggy or just not a fan?
Gonzo__ said:
and then even more hardcore ... Arch , Gentoo ... then LFS .. haha . learn your terminal commands
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tbh, This is kinda the path I wanna take, I don't wanna be a pro-pro but would like to be somewhat good.
Basicly I'm a qualified PC Tech & while I can help anyone out on a windows & mac environment I'll still clueless on Linux so I wanna learn as much as possible to be the best I can be.
Do you think starting at the deep end is a good idea or should I take it slowly?
Delivered by Western Union in the rain after 70 Years
So, here's the lowdown...
I am running Ubuntu Natty Narwhal right now. I find Unity delightful and decently customizable. But if you don't like Unity, you can choose Ubuntu Classic from the login screen, which is GNOME(not sure which). Another distro I like is Fedora (currently 15) which comes with GNOME 3. If you want a completely bare-bones but amazingly customizable distro go with Arch. It may be confusing at first, but I hear you can do anything with it. Another popular distro is Gentoo, where you compile almost everything from source. One distro that I have used is Sabayon, which is a spinoff of Gentoo. OpenSUSE is pretty solid, although I haven't used it for that long. I tried Mandriva for a while and didn't really like it.
I would say though, that if you want to become better at linux try Fedora. It's pretty much Ubuntu but for non-noobs. If you become comfortable with that, try out Arch or Gentoo. But if you want to do development, like for android, go with Ubuntu as it comes with easily installable software and a large community.
So there ya go, that's my opinion on this.
I've read alot about open suse being used alot on laptops in europe. They use it on the pc's at work and needed a way to easily communicate their latops with the work pc's. So over the past few yrs, open suse has really worked to make it laptop compatible.