I TOOK IT HERE
Android ROM and rooting dictionary: all the terms explained
Android is a Linux-based operating system, and in Linux, there is something called root access. When you root your Android phone, you will get superuser access. It’s sort of like a special user account for system administration.
With root access, you have complete control over your phone’s operating system. It will let you install lots of great system apps, such as backup tools, that only are available to root users, and you’ll have the option to flash themes and custom Android ROMs. You can look at custom ROMs as different editions of the Android platform, and when you flash a new ROM, you install someone’s vision of Android.
For example, when I bought the HTC Desire in April 2010, I initially used the stock HTC firmware for a couple of months, which basically is HTC’s customized version of Android. Then I got bored with it, and I started using a ROM called MIUI by a group of Chinese developers. It added a lot of functionality and had a unique UI design. Then I got curious of HTC’s new device Desire HD, and I flashed a custom ROM that was based on the firmware of that phone. And when Android 2.3 Gingerbread arrived, I started using a virtually unmodified version of Android – Google’s vision of it.
In other words, when you have root access, you can use your phone as a hardware shell that you simply can put new versions of the Android operating system into. This post won’t discuss how to get root access, but it will try to explain all the funny words that you will encounter when reading about custom ROMs in forums such as xda-developers. There is an entire terminology surrounding Android ROMs and rooting, and these words sound like complete gibberish when you’re not used to them.
So I’ve tried to write a rooting dictionary that explains the most common superuser and Android ROM terms. I’m no expert, so please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, and feel free to suggest additional words to include in this root access and ROM dictionary.
Android ROM and rooting dictionary
A2SD+
A2SD+ is an extension of Android 2.2 Froyo’s native support for installing apps on the SD card, but it virtually installs every app to the external storage. You can more or less expand your internal storage with the size of the partition you create on your memory card — because you need to partition your SD card to use A2SD+. It’s great if your Android phone has a limited amount of internal storage space. Most Android ROMs have built-in support for A2SD+.
AOSP
AOSP is short for Android Open Source Project, and when the term is used in ROM descriptions, it usually indicates that the ROM in question is based on the Android source code provided by Google itself, and not on some other ROM project or a company’s firmware.
Bootloader
The bootloader executes code before any operating system is launched. On Android devices, the bootloader is usually locked because manufacturers want you to use the version of Android they’ve provided. With a locked bootloader on Android phones, custom ROMs cannot be flashed.
BusyBox
BusyBox is an app on your phone that will give you access to additional Linux/Unix based commands. You may need BusyBox installed to perform some root level tasks, and some other apps that require root access may need BusyBox installed as well. BusyBox is self-dubbed “The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux.”
ClockworkMod Recovery
I won’t get very technical here, because I can’t, but you can think of the Recovery Mode as Android’s equivalent of the BIOS on your computer. Not quite, since Hboot may be more similar to your PC’s BIOS, but you get the picture. It’s a boot menu that is shown without Android being loaded, and it gives you access to certain features such as doing complete backups of your phone (Nandroid backups) and installing custom ROMs. ClockworkMod is the most popular Recovery Mode, and it’s installed with the app ROM Manager.
CyanogenMod or CM
CyanogenMod, often abbreviated CM, is a custom version of vanilla (more or less unmodified) Android. It’s the most popular custom ROM for Android – a community effort, and many other ROMs are based on CyanogenMod. Among other things, it adds a bunch of extra customization features and options.
Dalvik & Dalvik cache
Dalvik is the cryptic name of the virtual machine (VM) in Android, and it’s the basis for running apps (with the .apk filename extension) on the platform. Before Android apps are launched, they’re converted into the compact Dalvik Executable (.dex) format, which is designed to be suitable for systems that are constrained in terms of memory and processor speed. Dalvik was originally written by Dan Bornstein, who named it after the fishing village of Dalvík in Eyjafjörður, Iceland, where some of his ancestors lived.
The Dalvik cache is a simply the cache used by Dalvik, and it’s the result of Dalvik doing optimizations of running apps. Some Android ROMs allow you to move the Dalvik cache to your SD card, in order to free up internal storage.
Data2SD / D2EXT / D2SD
If a ROM supports data2SD, D2EXT, or simply D2SD, it means that the /data folder on your Android phone’s internal storage can be moved to your memory card instead. That’s a good thing, because it will free up precious internal megabytes and leave more room for apps and games. Some say that having the data stored on your SD card is slightly slower, though.
D2ext is a short way of saying “data to the extended file system”. It requires that you have created a partition on your SD card.
Deodexed
The term “deodexed” has been mocking me ever since I rooted my first Android phone. What the frak does it mean, exactly? Well, it’s probably the hardest term to explain in this rooting dictionary, but I’ll do my best.
Apparently, when a ROM has been deodexed, it means that its apps have been prepared so they can be modified. Deodexed ROMs feature apps that have been repackaged in a certain way. Android applications, .APKs, contain .odex files that devs supposedly use to save space. These .odex files are extracted from the application packages and put in the /system/ folder on your phone, to speed up boot processes and to allow parts of applications to be preloaded.
However, this makes hacking and modifying those apps difficult because parts of the apps have been extracted to another location. Deodexing means that all pieces of an application package are put back together into one file, and it makes sure that a modified .APK won’t conflict with some separate odexed parts located somewhere else. Developers of custom ROMs choose to deodex their ROM packages, since it lets them modify various .APKs, and it also makes theming possible after the ROMs have been installed.
DSPManager
This is an equalizer app that Android devs like to include in their ROMs.
EXT2/3/4
This refers to ext2, ext3, and ext4 partitions on your SD card. They’re extended file systems for Linux that can be used by Android, usually in order to preserve internal storage space. Many custom Android ROMs require that you have an ext2, ext3 or ext4 partition on your memory card. Ext2 is the oldest type of extended file system, and ext4 is the newest. Some say that ext4 will put an unnecessary strain on your memory card, because it writes to it so much, and I think the ext3 file system currently is most common. To use one of these file systems, you need to create a special partition on your SD card with ROM Manager or GParted.
So what exactly is a partition? It’s a part of a hard disk, or a SD card in this case, that’s separated from the other parts. Think of partitioning as dividing your SD card into two sections that have different purposes.
Fastboot
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but fastboot is essentially a boot menu that you can do stuff from before Android is launched. On the HTC Desire, you can access it by turning off the device and simultaneously pressing the Power button and the Volume down button. From this menu, you can choose to boot into Recovery Mode, and more. I’ve also seen this technical (and likely more accurate) explanation: “Fastboot is a protocol used to directly update the flash file system in Android devices from a host over USB.”
Firmware
A phone’s firmware is basically its operating system. A “firmware update” means that the operating system, the software that controls the phone, is updated. “Stock firmware” means that the firmware is unmodified: it’s the version of the operating system the phone’s manufacturer delivers.
Flash and flashing
To flash a custom ROM, or a firmware, simply means that you install it. So, flashing is the process of installing a new version of the Android operating system, or just parts of it, like the radio. Flashing new ROMs is done via the Recovery Mode, usually with ClockworkMod Recovery.
HBoot
HBoot is loaded immediately when your phone is switched on, and it’s mainly responsible for checking and initializing the hardware and starting the phone’s software. It can also be used for flashing official software releases, as well as a few other things. HBoot can be compared to the BIOS on a computer.
IME
Input Method Editor (soft keyboard)
[Thanks to Hayden4018]
IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity. which you can get by by typing *#06# (works for Galaxy S)
[Thanks to turnado]
Kernel
The kernel is the central component of most operating systems: it’s a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The Linux kernel was initially created by legendary Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds in 1991. Android kernels are often customized, optimized and modified for different purposes, such as over-clocking the processor or extending the battery life. Custom ROMs usually include a new kernel.
Linux
Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems that use the Linux kernel. The name “Linux” comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Android is a Linux-based mobile operating system.
MIUI ROM
MIUI is a heavily customized version of Android 2.2 from a team of Chinese developers, and it made a splash in the Android blogosphere back in September 2010. MIUI takes the best parts of Froyo, Samsung’s TouchWiz interface and iOS, and transforms the various elements into something quite unique that has managed to make many people excited. A lot of developers have released their own versions of MIUI, and the ROM is available for many different devices. Besides the official website (in Chinese), there’s a forum dedicated to MIUI at miui-dev.com.
NANDroid & NANDroid backups
NANDroid will let anyone with root access make a complete system backup. It lets you create a backup of every piece of information on your phone, and it can be restored later whenever you want. NANDroid backups are usually performed before flashing a new ROM, in case anything goes wrong, or if you want to return to your previous setup later. NANDroid backups are created from the Recovery Mode, often with ClockworkMod Recovery.
Odexed
See deodexed.
Radio
OK, so this is not the radio you’re listening to your favorite stations with. It’s the radio on your phone that handles communication, the radio that sends and receives voice and data. Flashing (installing) a new radio can improve your reception, and bring other benefits. A radio is flashed via Recovery Mode, just as a full Android ROM.
Radio interface layer (RIL)
Android provides a Radio Interface Layer (RIL) between Android’s telephony services and the radio hardware. Developers and enthusiasts enjoy messing around with every part of Android, and some of them modify the RIL, just like Android itself, the kernel and the radio, to make it better.
RC1, RC2 et cetera
When it comes to Android ROMs, RC means Release Candidate. It’s a candidate for the final release of a ROM, and they can be considered ROM betas.
Recovery Mode
As explained under ClockworkMod, the Recovery Mode is a menu that you can boot into that lets you perform complete backups of your phone (Nandroid backups), install custom ROMs and more. ClockworkMod is a very popular Recovery Mode, and you can get it via the app ROM Manager below.
ROM Manager
ROM Manager is an immensely popular app for root users, and it lets you flash ClockworkMod Recovery, install ROMs from your SD card, perform backups and even download new ROMs over-the-air.
Root
When someone mentions root, it usually just refers to having root access on an Android phone – also called being a root user, or a superuser. Root access is explained under superuser, and in the introduction to this dictionary.
S-OFF (security off)
On the HTC Desire and several other HTC Android phones, the company has implemented a form of “security.” It’s called @secuflag, and it controls whether your phone has its NAND or flash unlocked. S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partitions, blocking you from performing certain root level actions directly from Android.
You can disable this security measure with S-OFF (security off), although you risk bricking your phone in the process (worst case scenario).
SetCPU
This is a popular application for overclocking or underclocking your phone’s processor, making it faster or slower. It may require a special kernel in order to work.
SuperUser
Android is a Linux-based operating system, and in Linux, there is something called root access. When you root your Android phone, you will get superuser access. The superuser, or root user, is sort of a special user account for system administration. SuperUser is also the name of an app, which lets you grant or deny superuser privileges to other apps.
Terminal and Terminal Emulator
Terminal Emulator, sometimes just referred to as Terminal, is an app that lets users access Android’s built-in Linux command line shell. The application emulates a Digital Equipment Corporation VT-100 terminal, and it’s mostly useful for programmers and for those with root access. For example, typing this in Terminal Emulator when a2sd is installed will move the Dalvik cache to the SD card:
su (gives the app SuperUser access)
a2sd cachesd (moves the Dalvik cache to the SD card)
Titanium Backup
Titanium Backup is the best backup tool for root users, since it allows you to backup all your applications as well as their data.
Zipaligned
Zipalign is a tool that optimizes the way an Android app (.APK) is packaged. It enables Android to interact with the application more efficiently, and in doing so, it has the potential to make the app and the entire Android system much faster. Zipaligned applications are launched more quickly, and they use less amounts of RAM. So, thumbs up for zipaligned Android ROMs.
WWE
WWE means “World Wide English”, and usually tells that an Android ROM is based on WWE, or World Wide English, firmware.
Thank you very much paul-ac. Very much appreciate your effort in creating this dictionary for helping newbies like me.
Wow, very nice writeup!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
thanks a lot it was very helpful
and for IME is it the same as (International Mobile Equipment Identity). which we can get by by typing *#06# on your standby screen.? or not
Nice one. thank you
turnado said:
thanks a lot it was very helpful
and for IME is it the same as (International Mobile Equipment Identity). which we can get by by typing *#06# on your standby screen.? or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the IMEI, IME if I'm not mistakin' is Input Method Editor.
Very nice post, thank you. It would have been very useful when I buyed my first android phone.
really nice
Very cool, please keep this updated
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
Nice copy-paste
galaxysdev said:
Nice copy-paste
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is!
xxxxxxxxxx
I just like to ask what WIP means? ive seen it on other forums but i havent found any extraordinary about the rom or something
thanks in advance
fulii said:
I just like to ask what WIP means? ive seen it on other forums but i havent found any extraordinary about the rom or something
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
work in progress
finally i know what deodexed means
please add modem. thx
BoKKeR said:
please add modem. thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Radio=modem.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
What is ETA mean?.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
THX !
Related
n00b I know...
I have 2 winmo phones with hard-spl (touch pro and hd2) as well as a jailbroken iPad, but for some reason when I look through the android development sub forum it looks like I'm reading wingdings or something. Is android infinitely more complicated than winmo 6.5 and iOS? am I just an idiot?
I dont get what boot recovery flashing is, nand unlocking, the difference between being rooted and fully rooted.
On a side note, I really like my evo but would like to tether and have full root access, I think.
Root vs "full" root. HTC has started adding additional security to the /system partition. Although /system is an arbitrary mount point, it is also a predefined physical block of the flash memory. An additional step beyond basic root access is needed to make that area writable when not in recovery.
Recovery is another partition. The bootloader is capable of booting to that partition instead of the Android OS so that maintenance can be performed without the OS loaded.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jorpe said:
n00b I know...
I have 2 winmo phones with hard-spl (touch pro and hd2) as well as a jailbroken iPad, but for some reason when I look through the android development sub forum it looks like I'm reading wingdings or something. Is android infinitely more complicated than winmo 6.5 and iOS? am I just an idiot?
I dont get what boot recovery flashing is, nand unlocking, the difference between being rooted and fully rooted.
On a side note, I really like my evo but would like to tether and have full root access, I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i will answer this, to the best of my limited knowledge, and experience.
/system is a partition of the internal memory etc that holds and runs applications that either are necessary for function (dialer, contacts, etc), or are put there by the provider (like your sprint apps).
root access is writing to /system. without NAND unlocked, this can only be done in recovery mode.
full root is NAND unlocked.
NAND unlocked allows you have have read and write access to the /system partition while the phone is actually running on android, rather than just while in recovery.
a custom recovery allows you to flash unsigned ROMs, kernels, radios. you would 'boot into recovery' to flash the zip (it's just a menu option, pretty straightforward). there are also options to backup or restore your current ROM setup. think of it like imaging your pc.
if you've flashed custom ROMs on winmo phones, you probably used an RUU, where you just put the nbh file into a folder that contained the executable and ran it. well, here you would just put the .zip file onto your sdcard, boot into the custom recovery, and select the 'flash zip' from the menu.
hope that helps
Introducing...
Darktremor Apps2SD 2.7.5.3 Beta 04
Date of Release: January 29, 2011
Download Current Version
Instructions - Change Log - Commands - ROM List - Developer's Guide
Darktremor Apps2SD Fan Page ----
Darktremor Apps2SD Development Group
Are you installing Darktremor Apps2SD on your phone? Here are the instructions to help you: Facebook
Are you a developer wanting to include Darktremor Apps2SD in your latest ROM? Here is the Developer Guide: Facebook
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update on Beta 4
It seems I'm getting mixed results with these betas. I'm not sure why this is occurring, some people have been able to get this working right while others have had a hard time with it.
Currently, I'm rebuilding the entire program. This takes a while because I have to figure out how to pack all these options into the program but make it small enough to where it will run correctly.
I will say that some of the beta features are coming back out...one of them is the search for a partition code. I suspect that code may be leading me into issues with certain platforms, so I'm going back to the 2.7.5.2 method of mounting (mmcblk0p2 or mmcblk1p2).
Also, parts of the code will use Busybox Ash (the only code that won't will be starta2sd, which will still use Bash for the time being). The startup code will definitely use Busybox Ash.
Until then, here are the links to the the last two betas and the last official release:
Version 2.7.5.3 Beta 04 - http://www.darktremor.info/files/a2sd/dtapps2sd-2.7.5.3-beta04-signed.zip
Version 2.7.5.3 Beta 03 - http://www.darktremor.info/files/a2sd/dtapps2sd-2.7.5.3-beta03-signed.zip
Version 2.7.5.2-1 - http://www.darktremor.info/files/a2sd/dtapps2sd-2.7.5.2-1-signed.zip
And, if you want past versions, you can view the repository: ftp://dtuser:[email protected] (ignore the smiley face...that's XDA doing that.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beta 04 took longer than I expected to release. I have done major changes to the code:
1. New commands: convert-ext4 - This will convert your EXT3 partition into EXT4. Just a friendly reminder on this command: Not every rom supports EXT4, so it is possible to go into a boot loop if you switch roms. Use with caution.
2. Reworked convert-ext3 (convert-ext4 gets similar code)...now a flag file is set before the reboot (no conversion is done before the reboot). At load time, the conversion is performed. This takes longer in the reboot process and you may think your phone has locked up...wait about five minutes before doing anything with the phone.
3. Repair is rebuilt...now it uses existing commands to repair the setup (reinstall, remove, cachesd, cachepart, nocache, datasd, nodata). Definitely shrinks the code.
4. Added fix_permissions program to the package. This may help with Superuser issues when using the datasd feature. It is used in reinstall, remove, datasd and nodata.
5. a2sd install is back!!! Both a2sd install and a2sd reinstall do the exact same thing.
6. Dalvik heap code has been shrunk and now creates a file called dalvikheap. Actually, the code has been doing this all along (since about 2.7.5.2, I think), but I never put the code in to use the file.
7. Low Memory Killer code has also been shrunk and uses a file caled dtset_lowmem to set the low memory killer parameter.
8. Replaced Busybox PS function with Toolbox PS. The issue with Busybox PS is that it gives a false reading when I look for android.process.acore (which is the main program when the GUI starts up). If that is present, the program thinks you are trying to run Darktremor without any command line parameters. This was because Busybox would report the process was there when, in reality, it wasn't (validated this when my phone was boot looping.) Toolbox's PS reports the correct setting. This should fix the bootlooping issues some people are experiencing.
9. New commands: usedtbusybox and usedefaultbusybox - these commands may help in diagnosing issues that is may be related to the native Busybox on your rom. a2sd usedtbusybox will use the Busybox that is packaged with Darktremor. a2sd usedefaultbusybox will turn back on the scan behavior of the program introduced in Beta 03.
10. Support for Darktremor Apps2SD version 2.7 and earlier has been discontinued. To upgrade correctly from one of those versions, use version 2.7.5.3 Beta 03b or earlier.
11. Finally fixed stalled boot issues (or at least my tests with several roms says so.)
See the change log for additional details.
You will notice that if the program runs repair and finds a problem, it will correct the issue and reboot. You will see a second reboot when the dalvik-cache clears (this is to fix timing issues with CyanogenMod...I can't control that startup as well as I can other roms). This only happens if repair is ran or you flash a new rom (as repair will realign all data). If you are upgrading from a previous version of Darktremor, you should not see the reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is Darktremor Apps2SD, a multipurpose program that primarily allows a user to execute applications created for the Android OS on their Secure Digital card (with the proper setup...more on that later). But, Darktremor Apps2SD is all about stability. The goal is to be able for all users of the Android OS to be able to take advantage of a method to run their applications from a secure digital card.
But just because the Darktremor Apps2SD is all about stability, doesn't mean it isn't packed with features:
- Move applications (both free and paid) to the Secure Digital card.
- Move Dalvik Cache to run either from your Secure Digital card or from your cache partition and clears the cache on demand.
- Boot Loop Protection: prevents the phone from boot looping in the event the SD card could not be mounted.
- Dalvik JIT for faster performance on Roms which support it.
- User selectable sizes for the Dalvik heap sizes, allowing a user to freely optimize their system.
- Activate a swap partition on your SD card and sets how often the swap partition is utilized.
- Automatically fixes configuration issues.
- Users can check the free space on their SD card and check the installation to make sure all is setup correctly.
- Runs ZipAlign on demand...this makes your programs load faster.
- Built in help system for easy reference of commands.
- All features can also be reversed without repartitioning your Secure Digital card.
- New logging features assists in troubleshooting issues.
- Commands to set the Low Memory Killer feature at boot time. Great for those people who are the "set it and forget it" type.
- And more...
Darktremor Apps2SD is not the same as Froyo Apps2SD. Froyo Apps2SD creates a secure folder on the FAT32 section of your SD card (this is the section that you see when you mount your phone to your computer) and stores the programs there. This is nice as you don't have to do anything special with the phone, but it isn't backwards compatible with older versions of Android (Cupcake, Donut, Eclair) and, because of the way Froyo works, older programs not designed for Froyo will automatically stay on your internal storage (unless you install a program that forces the move to your SD card).
Darktremor Apps2SD takes a different approach. Based on the original CyanogenMod works, Darktremor Apps2SD uses symbolic linking to force Android into moving your applications to the SD card. Because Android will not allow anything to be ran from the FAT32 partition on your SD card (and, in Froyo, it will only allow you to run programs from a special folder), Darktremor utilizes filesystems called EXT2, EXT3 and EXT4. Each one of these filesystems is native to Linux (the operating system running Android), which allows you to run programs from them (same as, say, a computer running Ubuntu). This method is completely compatible with all versions of Android, including Froyo. In fact, you can run both the Darktremor Apps2SD and Froyo Apps2SD at the same time.
Check out the list of Roms that either have Darktremor Apps2SD installed or are compatible with Darktremor Apps2SD. Click on the link labeled ROM List at the top of this message.
Bump thread...new version 2.7.5.3 Beta 02 is released.
Bump---new version available.
Most ROMs include most of the functionality you described.
What are the gains of getting this? If I read things a little, there is somekind of app whereby the user can control the parameters?
Some people believe this version makes the phone respond faster because rather than using a FAT32 implementation of Apps2SD, which (from my understanding) has to go through some form of encryption/decryption (could be wrong on that account), this version uses native Linux partitions to store the data. This also uses symbolic links (native to Linux) to redirect the files to the SD card.
Apparently, from what I have read as well, some programs leave traces of themselves in Internal storage even if they are moved to the SD card by Froyo (although I can't find any evidence of that on my phone), this would insure that the entire program is on the SD card.
On top of that, this version can move dalvik-cache to the SD card, which Froyo's implementation cannot do. That helps with freeing up more internal space.
The newer 2.7.5.3 also has a method of moving the program data (/data/data) to the SD card as well, freeing up even more memory. Froyo also can't do this.
While it is true that most roms offer similar functionality, most Apps2SD implementations are also designed for the rom they run. If you have a rom that does the same functionality as Darktremor, then you should stick with what you have. This is for people who need more functionality with their Apps2SD or people who use roms like CyanogenMod which doesn't have an Apps2SD implementation.
riemervdzee said:
Most ROMs include most of the functionality you described.
What are the gains of getting this? If I read things a little, there is somekind of app whereby the user can control the parameters?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tkirton said:
Some people believe this version makes the phone respond faster because rather than using a FAT32 implementation of Apps2SD....
{I edited out all of this stuff since the person you're replying to is an advanced kernel developer who knows all of this and was suggesting that all existing roms other than stock CM roms come with ext-based apps2sd which support dalvik2sd and so on, just like this does}...
...While it is true that most roms offer similar functionality, most Apps2SD implementations are also designed for the rom they run. If you have a rom that does the same functionality as Darktremor, then you should stick with what you have. This is for people who need more functionality with their Apps2SD or people who use roms like CyanogenMod which doesn't have an Apps2SD implementation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So this is useful for CM roms - that is true. It's probably the main reason to use this since I too don't see anything that would really be better than the apps2sd built into the roms I've been using other than this taking more space.
Possibly this thread could be renamed with "for CM stock roms" or something so it's really clear to users of those roms that they could get these benefits easily.
My thought on this issue is this: I'm not going to attempt to convince you to try it. If you want to run it, great. If you don't, that's fine as well (some people feel Froyo Apps2SD is enough, and I respect that).
I always believe that, if you have something that works fine for you, don't change. If your Apps2SD implementation works for you, then stick with that.
dkelley said:
So this is useful for CM roms - that is true. It's probably the main reason to use this since I too don't see anything that would really be better than the apps2sd built into the roms I've been using other than this taking more space.
Possibly this thread could be renamed with "for CM stock roms" or something so it's really clear to users of those roms that they could get these benefits easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do I need to turn on the Application moving thing in Cyanogen mod, or just DT just run in the background automatically?
I'm using CM7 by the way.
tkirton said:
My thought on this issue is this: I'm not going to attempt to convince you to try it. If you want to run it, great. If you don't, that's fine as well (some people feel Froyo Apps2SD is enough, and I respect that).
I always believe that, if you have something that works fine for you, don't change. If your Apps2SD implementation works for you, then stick with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting - you missed my point entirely LoL, but that is very fair what you said.
I was clarifying that this tool is really targetted at, and most useful for, CM users.
and from what I've been told this particular version beta3a is working perfectly with CM7 gingerbread.
takuhii said:
Do I need to turn on the Application moving thing in Cyanogen mod, or just DT just run in the background automatically?
I'm using CM7 by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you use this all you do is flash it and you're done. no more thinking about application control other than to move certain apps to "phone" memory if they FC after being installed and you find them defaulting to be in "sd card" memory (which often causes issues in some gingerbread installs).
Using this on CM7 with an ext4 partition, works very well. One thing I had to do manually is run 'a2sd cachesd', moving the dalvik to the sd card. Assuming the built in a2sd (ext) in other roms do this automatically, as my free internal space was much lower (with the same apps) until I did this step. Performance seemed the same either way, just the free storage number changed )
Quick question about the datasd command. Aside from saving space, would this (or could this) allow one to preserve apps in between wipes (i.e. different rom installs)? As a wipeaholic I'd love to just have my apps/data sitting on ext partition and have them show up automatically whenever I flash a new rom.
scrollo said:
Using this on CM7 with an ext4 partition, works very well. One thing I had to do manually is run 'a2sd cachesd', moving the dalvik to the sd card. Assuming the built in a2sd (ext) in other roms do this automatically, as my free internal space was much lower (with the same apps) until I did this step. Performance seemed the same either way, just the free storage number changed )
Quick question about the datasd command. Aside from saving space, would this (or could this) allow one to preserve apps in between wipes (i.e. different rom installs)? As a wipeaholic I'd love to just have my apps/data sitting on ext partition and have them show up automatically whenever I flash a new rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running this on CM7 too, I moved Dalvik-cache to the CACHE folder/partition. This ROM just blazes along now...
Application moving thing is Froyo Apps2SD. Darktremor does it automatically.
takuhii said:
Do I need to turn on the Application moving thing in Cyanogen mod, or just DT just run in the background automatically?
I'm using CM7 by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually did get the point, but couldn't come up with an appropriate response. I don't know much about the HTC Hero GSM. My first Android phone was the HTC Hero CDMA, which I found out is a different beast altogether.
For the Hero CDMA, we have both CyanogenMod (AOSP) and SenseUI (HTC) roms. Darktremor is relevant to both types of rom types, so both AOSP and HTC rom users can use it. That's where I had troubles actually coming up with the appropriate response...I don't know if you guys have SenseUI and I'm not familiar with other roms you have.
Beta 04 should work better for CM users..
dkelley said:
interesting - you missed my point entirely LoL, but that is very fair what you said.
I was clarifying that this tool is really targetted at, and most useful for, CM users.
and from what I've been told this particular version beta3a is working perfectly with CM7 gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theoretically, it should preserve the data (though I don't think anyone, including myself, has done that yet). This should be useful if you were going between nightly builds (seeing that you are on CM7, I presume that's why you asked the question), but switching between two different roms may result in unpredictable operation.
scrollo said:
Using this on CM7 with an ext4 partition, works very well. One thing I had to do manually is run 'a2sd cachesd', moving the dalvik to the sd card. Assuming the built in a2sd (ext) in other roms do this automatically, as my free internal space was much lower (with the same apps) until I did this step. Performance seemed the same either way, just the free storage number changed )
Quick question about the datasd command. Aside from saving space, would this (or could this) allow one to preserve apps in between wipes (i.e. different rom installs)? As a wipeaholic I'd love to just have my apps/data sitting on ext partition and have them show up automatically whenever I flash a new rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tkirton said:
Application moving thing is Froyo Apps2SD. Darktremor does it automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its time we refered to your A2SD as A2EXT, this is more suitable now since Google has as implemented A2SD(froyo fat32). Darktremor A2EXT is better name for this work.
Keep up the good work.
Sent from my HTC Hero
Or Apps2EXT...
Actually, on 2.7.6 (or 2.7.5.3 final), I was thinking on renaming everything to Darktremor Toolbox (or something along those lines...anything but Darktremor Apps2SD), since this thing does more than just move applications to the EXT partition. It also moves Dalvik-Cache (Dalvik2SD and Dalvik2Cache) and Program files (Data2SD), plus adjust Low Memory killer settings, sets the Dalvik heap size, converts partitions, implements the Evo SD Card speed fix (which not sure if this works for anyone else), fixes APK permissions, and possibly one or two more things I can't recall off the top of my head.
It seems the program has outgrown its name, plus the confusion between this program and Froyo Apps2SD is getting worse.
adisa said:
I think its time we refered to your A2SD as A2EXT, this is more suitable now since Google has as implemented A2SD(froyo fat32). Darktremor A2EXT is better name for this work.
Keep up the good work.
Sent from my HTC Hero
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tkirton said:
Theoretically, it should preserve the data (though I don't think anyone, including myself, has done that yet). This should be useful if you were going between nightly builds (seeing that you are on CM7, I presume that's why you asked the question), but switching between two different roms may result in unpredictable operation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does preserve them. I use this to test different roms on the leo...makes it so I do NOT have to reinstall all the apps.
do I need to flash this every time I flash a new cm7 nightly?
Yes...CM 7 Nightly builds (as with other roms) will wipe out the /system partition before installing the rom, so Darktremor's files are wiped clean as well. You will need to reflash Darktremor in order to restore the boot scripts.
alioooop said:
do I need to flash this every time I flash a new cm7 nightly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got my new Desire a few days before. It works like a charm. The only 2 things I feel unsatisfied are: battery life and ROM capacity.
There is not much I can do on the battery side. I can put it aside and get used to that. But the ROM is really painful for me -- When I get the device, it had around 150MB free memory. But it is only 22MB left now!
I noticed that the Android 2.2 supported to install application on SD card. I used adb shell to setup the default installation to SD, and moved most of the programs to the SD card. However, it seems that internal memory was not free up as much as I was expected. Indeed, I did not have many software installed. And I am very suspicious if the cache of software (like mail, google maps, etc.) might always stay on internal memory.
I think one solution to solve the problem is to root my device and partition the SD card to increase the program storage. But I am worrying if it might bring security risk from malwares, or make the phone run slower and have bigger power consumption when use SD card more frequently.
Do you root your device for the app2sd? What's the pros and cons? I want to take your opinion before make the decision. Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
w162 said:
I just got my new Desire a few days before. It works like a charm. The only 2 things I feel unsatisfied are: battery life and ROM capacity.
There is not much I can do on the battery side. I can put it aside and get used to that. But the ROM is really painful for me -- When I get the device, it had around 150MB free memory. But it is only 22MB left now!
I noticed that the Android 2.2 supported to install application on SD card. I used adb shell to setup the default installation to SD, and moved most of the programs to the SD card. However, it seems that internal memory was not free up as much as I was expected. Indeed, I did not have many software installed. And I am very suspicious if the cache of software (like mail, google maps, etc.) might always stay on internal memory.
I think one solution to solve the problem is to root my device and partition the SD card to increase the program storage. But I am worrying if it might bring security risk from malwares, or make the phone run slower and have bigger power consumption when use SD card more frequently.
Do you root your device for the app2sd? What's the pros and cons? I want to take your opinion before make the decision. Any suggestion will be very appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting , followed by alpha rev s-off n1 partitioning, is by far the best thing, so much fun.
I use defrost based on cyanogen mod, great support, and ota feature, with kernels galore, and the all important a2sd built in. As long as you have an ext partition on your sd card, all apps go straight into the ext partition with out you having to do anything.
Also remember is not jail breaking
Desire is the source of all suffering.
nitrox1 said:
Rooting , followed by alpha rev s-off n1 partitioning, is by far the best thing, so much fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does alpha rev s-off allow you to do?
It basically provides full root access for your desire as opposed to soft root, where you could only r/w to the to the /system partition while in recovery mode.
What is S-OFF ? (Quotes from original AlphaRev website)
HTC implemented security on their new generation phones. This flag, called @secuflag, controls whether your phone has it's NAND or flash unlocked. Most noticibly S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partition, to name a few. Also, controls whether zip files being flashed recovery or fastboot, are signed by HTC The now notorious S-OFF (security off) disable this NAND security. Since we are unable to access the Radio itself (where secuflag is stored), we turn attention to HBOOT.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
MasDroid said:
It basically provides full root access for your desire as opposed to soft root, where you could only r/w to the to the /system partition while in recovery mode.
What is S-OFF ? (Quotes from original AlphaRev website)
HTC implemented security on their new generation phones. This flag, called @secuflag, controls whether your phone has it's NAND or flash unlocked. Most noticibly S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partition, to name a few. Also, controls whether zip files being flashed recovery or fastboot, are signed by HTC The now notorious S-OFF (security off) disable this NAND security. Since we are unable to access the Radio itself (where secuflag is stored), we turn attention to HBOOT.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does it allow you to do that you can't do without it?
stats101 said:
What does it allow you to do that you can't do without it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It unlocks NAND so that you can write into /system partition. You can also flash radio, custom kernel, custom recovery, any unsigned ROM directly via fastboot without ClockWorks Rom Manager.
When you can write to /system, MetaMorph, AdFree and other apps that require access to this partition will just work. You don't need to reboot into recovery in order to delete/change/add files. Superuser will be able to update su binary automatically, Busybox Installer from Market will have no problems installing the most recent version directly into /system/bin or /system/xbin, etc.
While most users probably don't need it, it's very useful for developers. You can change system configs on the fly, add and load custom kernel modules without reboot and so on.
Basically, it will make your phone fully unlocked, just like the Nexus One developer phone.
nitrox1 said:
Desire is the source of all suffering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't agree with that any more now
I am wanting to get a clear understanding of the structure of the Android phone - hardware, firmware and software - in particular, relating to the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, Canadian edition SGH-I257M.
I have been a computer bum since the mid-60s. I have extensive experience with machine and assembly languages, microcomputers and microcontrollers, programming "to the metal" [as we used to say], as well as C and high level languages, and a little UNIX knowledge via QNX from the century gone by. But i have been retired from all that for 15+ years and am entirely new to smartphones and Android.
So i have some questions.
But first, i have read and read and read. Too much hi-tech info the "get it" all at once. In particular i have found these threads specific to the SGH-I257M ...
Galaxy S4 Mini Archive
http://www.s4miniarchive.com/2013/12/How-to-unroot-and-unbrick-Samsung-Galaxy-S4-Mini-SGH-I257M.html
Root new S4 mini model SGH-I257M
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2470173
STOCK and ROOTED SGH-I257M
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2520299
and several others on rooting various specific-only versions of the S4 mini, CyanogenMod, flashing firmwares, etc. But no complete, tested process for rooting this specific model, or for installing CyanogenMod on it, etc.
And a little history ...
Back in the mid 60s a visiting professor at the University gave a talk entitled "Hardware, Software and Underwear". The title was of course, intentionally provocative. It was a bit mysterious to us at the time, but the idea was to encode low level software in hardware to make it run faster, among other reasons. The term underwear did not stick. Instead we have firmware, and in particular on microcomputers, the BIOS - Basic Input Output System.
Question #1: with regard to Android, my guess is the the BIOS is the interface between the physical hardware and the Linux Kernel. Is this concept of the system structure correct? ...
hardware <-> BIOS <-> Linux Kernel <-> Android System
Question #2: I am not clear on the various categories of memory. The S4 mini has a SIM card, either 8 or 16 gb memory [mine has 16], and may optionally have up to an additional 64 gb memory via a microSD card installed by the owner. Is the BIOS on a separate chip like in microcomputers? Any other memory types? [I have a feeling that i am missing something].
Question #3: Which physical memory contains each of the BIOS, the Linux Kernel and the Android system?
Question #4: I am thinking that CyanogenMod is a replacement for what i have labelled Android System in my simple structure diagram in question #1 above. Is this correct?
Question #5: The idea of rooting the phone is clear to me. I know what is the root directory on a computer hard drive and that the rooting process gives the user access to both that directory and permissions to do anything [delete, rename, replace, install, uninstall, whatever]. And that doing this voids the warranty.
When spring/summer comes along [and they will, even in this cold and frozen Canada!] i expect to be off on my motorcycle [vintage IronHead] for extended periods. I will want to do whatever to extend the battery life of my phone. So i am anticipating rooting the phone by then and perhaps installing CyanogenMod. I have not yet seen a clear process for rooting for the Canadian S4 mini SGH-I257M including making appropriate backups of the system software, or for installing CyanogenMod, but i am looking. Any pointers to this i would appreciate.
Question #5: Any books on this topic of Android system structure, especially wrt Samsung smart phones? I know, books are so last century; so maybe a website, forum thread, or whatever.
TIA! More ?s later.
Mick
OK, i got some answers on another forum, and these answers have been very helpful. So as i understand things now, ...
The BootLoader is in a rewriteable ROM, an actual physical chip
The 1.5 gb RAM is what i have been missing. This is where currently running programs are stored, temporarily, until both they are no longer running and the system needs the RAM to run another process
The 16 gb storage is equivalent to the hard drive on a PC. All software - Android system and apps - are stored here, and are loaded into the RAM when they need to run. The storage is divided into partitions.
I can see what programs are currently in RAM by Settings | more | app manager | running
I can see what programs are in storage by Settings | more | storage
As mentioned, the common use of the word ROM does not refer to an actual physical ROM chip or to software that might be loaded into one. Rather is is a generally accepted but misused term for replacing the whole [or perhaps part of the] operating system.
So now i have two more questions/thoughts ...
What about these partitions? Are these really partitions like on a PC hard drive? or are these really sub-directories of the root? There would be certain partitions, standard with the Android setup, each with a specific purpose. It would be helpful to know at least a few of these.
In my running apps list i see S Voice. Hhmmmm, i thought i deleted this app. I know i did. I do not need it to be in there, taking up space and CPU cycles. I expect that it is OK to Stop it, and that it will re-start itself next time i power off/up. I'll have to go down that list and see what else i can "put a stop to".
TIA. More ?s later.
Mick
Got some more info from the other forum, including this excellent link to an explanation of the partitions, so things are moving along ....
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/android-partitions-explained-boot-system-recovery-data-cache-misc/
Looks like the "partitions" are "directories", using the old MS-DOS and UNIX terminology. So once rooted, ...
cd / goes the the root directory, or
cd /recovery goes to the recovery directory
and ...
ls
would list the contents of whatever is the current directory.
Mick
How to install TWRP in my M30 the has already been updated to android 10. Then where can i get the suitable version of twrp and the steps to install it.
Plzz hepl
device info:
Galaxy M30 SM-M305F
android 10 (OneUI 2)
Exynos 7904
security update version M305FDDU3CSL5
TWRP for 10 is being worked upon. As of now there is no TWRP for 10. Please do not install the earlier TWRP, or you will end in a bootloop.
How long time take to upload twrp for galaxy m30 android 10 (OneUI2)
Plzz sir tell us
TWRP & Android 10
Please note that this post is primary related to TWRP and the Pixel 3 and 4 and devices that may ship in the future that ship with Android 10 as their original version of Android. Older non-Pixel devices that shipped with older versions of Android and receive upgrades to Android 10 are not affected.
Long story short, TWRP support for Android 10 is going to take a while.
Android 10 brings about the largest changes to the way AOSP implements recovery since Google shifted recovery from C to C++ when they moved from Android 4.0 to 4.1 more than 7 years ago. A lot of components in AOSP recovery were moved into subfolders, which makes merging the latest changes into TWRP more time consuming. At least on the Pixel 3, the ramdisk that we use for recovery is now handling part of normal boot in addition to recovery, so we're not sure what the best way will be to go about replacing recovery without affecting the ability to boot up normally. In addition, the way Google is building the ramdisk on the Pixel 3 is a lot different than the past. In the past, the executable binaries in the ramdisk were built as static binaries with no linked libraries. TWRP has almost always been built with separate linked libraries. The new dynamically linked stock ramdisk will make it harder for us to slip TWRP into the ramdisk.
Once we get TWRP compiling with the new changes from 10, we have some additional items that need consideration. As mentioned above, the stock ramdisk is using dynamic linking. Unlike TWRP, the stock ramdisk places the executables and libraries in the usual locations inside a /system folder. Normally TWRP leaves /system alone so that we can mount the system partition to its usual location of /system. If we leave things the way they are on the Pixel 3, mounting the system partition gets tricky. A lot of custom zips depend on mounting the system partition to /system.
Android 10 also introduces a new dynamic partitioning system. Instead of having a dedicated system partition and a dedicated vendor partition, etc. Android 10 uses a super partition. I like to think of the super partition as a partition that contains a bunch of smaller partitions. One of the side effects of this dynamic partition system is that Google has chosen to use a form of the ext4 file system that is for all intents and purposes, read-only. This choice means that even if you wanted to, you can't easily mount and modify the system partition. We haven't really discussed this with other developers yet, but it may impact your ability to do things like install Gapps. In addition, the dynamic partition model means that eventually, we should probably provide you, the user, some GUI driven tools in TWRP to allow you to manage the dynamic partitions that are on the super partition.
On top of all of the above, I, Dees_Troy, am the one who usually handles merges of new versions of Android. My wife is currently pregnant with our fourth child. I am quite busy with my growing family and the need to find a bigger house, so my time for working on TWRP right now is somewhat limited. So, I guess please be patient, or feel free to download the TWRP source code and make the needed changes yourself.
Source