Looking to port Android to other platforms such as embedded devices? This hands-on book shows you how Android works and how you can adapt it to fit your needs. You’ll delve into Android’s architecture and learn how to navigate its source code, modify its various components, and create your own version of Android for your particular device. You’ll also discover how Android differs from its Linux roots.

If you’re experienced with embedded systems development and have a good handle on Linux, this book helps you mold Android to hardware platforms other than mobile devices.

• Learn about Android’s development model and the hardware you need to run it
• Get a quick primer on Android internals, including the Linux kernel and Dalvik virtual machine
• Set up and explore the AOSP without hardware, using a functional emulator image
• Understand Android’s non-recursive build system, and learn how to make your own modifications
• Use evaluation boards to prototype your embedded Android system
• Examine the native user-space, including the root filesystem layout, the adb tool, and Android’s command line
• Discover how to interact with―and customize―the Android Framework

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Internals Primer

Chapter 3. AOSP Jump-Start

Chapter 4. The Build System

Chapter 5. Hardware Primer

Chapter 6. Native User-Space

Chapter 7. Android Framework

Appendix A. Legacy User-Space

Appendix B. Adding Support for New Hardware

Appendix C. Customizing the Default Lists of Packages

Appendix D. Default init.rc Files

Appendix E. Resources

About the Author

Karim J. Yaghmour is part serial entrepreneur part unrepentant geek. He is the CEO of Opersys Inc., a company providing development and training services on Embedded Android and Embedded Linux, and is most widely known for having authored O'Reilly's Building Embedded Linux Systems ― which sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide and has been translated into several different languages.

Karim pioneered the world of Linux tracing by introducing the Linux Trace Toolkit (LTT) in the late '90s. He continued maintaining LTT through 2005 and was joined in this effort by developers from several companies, including IBM, HP, and Intel. LTT users have included: Google, IBM, HP, Oracle, Alcatel, Nortel, Ericsson, Qualcomm, NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Sony, Samsung, NEC, Fujitsu, SGI, RedHat, Thales, Oerlikon, Bull, Motorola, ARM, ST Micro. Other contributions include relayfs and Adeos.

Karim has presented and published as part of a number of peer-reviewed scientific and industry conferences, magazines and online publications, including Usenix, the Linux Kernel Summit, the Embedded Linux Conference, the Android Builders Summit, AnDevCon, the Embedded Systems Conference, the Ottawa Linux Symposium, LinuxJournal, the O'Reilly Network and the Real-Time Linux Workshop.