Android OS

Ankit Sharma
ankitsharma613@gmail.com

Smartphone OS
Symbian Windows Mobile RIM Blackberry OS Apple iOS Google Android Palm WebOS Windows Phone 7

Android OS
Fastest growing mobile OS Over 300,000 Android activations a day Android overtook iOS as the dominant OS in US during 2H 2010 First phone launched HTC G1 in 2008 Currently an OS of choice for Motorola, HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, among others Software updates every few months

Android what is it?

software stack for mobile devices
incl. OS, middleware and key applications

Open source source code is open and contributions are welcome application framework enabling reuse/replacement of apps Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile integrated browser based on webkit Optimized graphics 2D graphics library, 3D based on OPEN GL ES SQLite for data storage Media support (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, JPG, PNG,) Support for radio interfaces, Bluetooth, WiFi, Camera, GPS, accelerometer Software Development Kit (SDK) Preinstalled applications from Google (GMS)
Gmail, Maps, Search, Voice Search, Youtube

Software Stack
Linux kernel Libraries Android run time
core libraries Dalvik virtual machine

application layer application protocol

Android Architecture

Android
Google Maps and other GMS applications Background services and applications
allows multi tasking of applications

Shared Data and interprocess communication All applications are equal

does not discriminate between native and non-native applications allows any applications to be enhanced/reused

p2p interdevice application messaging

Dalvik VM
All applications written in Java and converted to the dalvik executable .dex Every android app runs its own process, with its own instance of the dalvik virtual machine Not a traditional JVM, but a custom VM designed to run multiple instances efficiently on a single device VM uses linux kernel to handle low-level functionality incl. security, threading, process and memory management

Application Framework
Rich, extensible set of Views
apps can inclused lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, web browser

Content Providers
allows data access from other applications or share own data

Resource Manager
access to localized strings, graphics, layout files

Notification Manager
enables custom alerts to be displayed in status bar

Activity Manager
Manages lifecycle of applications and provides navigation backstack

Application Fundamentals
Activities
application presentation layer

Services
invisible components, update data sources, visible activities, trigger notifications perform regular processing even when app is not active or invisible

Content Providers
shareable data store

Intents
message passing framework broadcase messages system wide, for an action to be performed

Broadcast receivers
consume intent broadcasts lets app listen for intents matching a specific criteria like location

Notifications
Toast notification Status Bar Notification Dialog notification

Applications
All apps (native and 3rd party) are written using the same APIs and run on the same run time executable All apps have APIs for hardware access, location-based services, support for background services, map-based activities, 2D and 3D graphics. App Widgets are miniature app views that can be embedded in other apps like Home Screen

App Priority and Processes

Android apps do not have control over their own life cycles Aggressively manages resources to ensure device responsiveness and kills process/apps when needed Active Process critical priority Visible Process high priority Started Service Process Background Process low priority Empty process

Client apps
Developed using the Android SDK and installed on user devices Compiled Java code, with data and resource bundled by Android Asset Packaging tool (AAPT) into Android package or .apk All applications have Android Manifest file in its root directory
provides essential information about app

Could be installed directly on phone, but necessary to be distributed thru Market

Web Apps
An alternative to standalone apps Developed using web standards and accessed through browser nothing to install on devices Mixing client and web apps is also possible Client apps can embed web pages using Webview in Android app

SDK
Android APIs, Full Documentation and Sample code Development tools
Dalvik Debug Monitor Service (DDMS) Android Debug Bridge (ADB) Android Emulator

Online support and blog Native Development Kit also available

allows developers to implement parts of apps in native-code languages like C/C++ Plug in available to use Eclipse integrated development environment

Developer forums and developer phones from Google, MOTO Dev studio from Motorola

Android Market
Google Market - Part of GMS apps 3rd party apps submitted to Google, approved and distributed through Market Both Free and Paid apps Apps now limited to 50 MB; updates possible through Market Monetization through ads available Available in many countries, not all countries have support for paid apps Other Market place applications available Amazon has announced its own Android Market place App searches filtered based on Manifest file (eg. if a device does not have trackball, apps using trackball will be filtered out) Every app publishes a list of components the app will access and permissions need to be granted before installation Apps installed on device and SD card (SD Card from Froyo)

Search
Core feature in android User should be able to search any data on device or internet Usually one of the android buttons Search suggestions based on recent queries Provide custom search suggestions that match actual results in application data system side Quick Search Box Voice Search available and enhanced in recent releases

Locations & Maps

Compelling and most popular apps for mobile devices Google Maps provides free navigation applications allowed access to location services supported by device Google provides Maps external library
allows built-in downloading, rendering and caching of Maps tiles, and other display options and controls

Device Administration
Froyo introduces support for enterprise applications with Device Administraion API allows to create security-aware applications to control employee devices Apps might include
Email clients remote wipe device management services and apps

Android Software Updates

Android 1.0 G1 1.5 Cupcake 1.6 Donuts (CDMA support) 2.0 clair (Droid introduced with clair) 2.2 Froyo 2.3 Gingerbread (SDK released 2 weeks ago and source will follow soon) API Levels used by apps to identify software version on the device Android apps are generally forward compatible with newer version, but not necessarily backwards compatible

Compatibility
Why?
Allow customizable devices Create Common eco system

Android compatibility is free and easy

Obtain Android source code Comply with Android Compatibility Definition (ACD) doc
List requirements that need to be met for devices to be compatible with a particular version on Android

Pass the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)

Automated test harness running on desktop, manages test exectuion Test cases written, packaged as .apk to run on actual device or emulator

Porting guide available for bringing up Android on custom HW

Other possibilities
Google TV - a new platform based on Android Tablets Samsung Galaxy tab introduced in Oct 2010 eBook reader Latest Barnes and Noble Nook is an Android tablet

Resources
http://www.android.com http://http://androiddevelopers.blogspot.com http://developer.motorola.com/