Develop Bugs

[Help request] How to package ROMs for XDAndroid.

I've asked this question in the android release thread, searched this forum and the internet at length to even get a starting point, but haven't found anything.
I wanna do some testing on my own and would like some direction (step by step instructions aren't necessary) on getting a ROM packaged over.
Any assistance is appreciated.

i know theres plenty of people n this forum that can help. they might be acting funny cuz of how u came off in the xdandroid thread. they mighta felt like u trying to pressure or criticize them or their wrk. PRIDE..lol OR it could juss be that no one knows here..................which i doubt...hopefully someone come in soon and point u in the direction u need. ive seen it around but after mad thread jumpin...if u ever see a moderator post...look at their signature..most usually cookin roms themselves and have the links right there in their sig. ive seen em and checked it out. it was too much for me at da moment..lol
chck out that official google android site where they tell u all free info to build apps,roms, etc.. plus u can even dwnload free developer kit in all that.. i was was damn...now i know where the AOSP came frm ;-) i know my next phone gotta have android as the os off tops wit all that free !([email protected] lol
Sent from my AOSP on XDANDROID MSM using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

What exactly are you trying to accomplish, when you say "getting a ROM packaged over"? Are you talking about modifying the userland (system.sqsh), or simply grabbing and redistributing the different components such as the kernel, system.sqsh image, initrd, etc.? Or, are you actually trying to create a flashable NBH? You aren't terribly specific with your goals, so unless you clarify I (nor any other members) know what you actually want to do.

Thanks DaveTheTytnIIGuy, I found what I was looking for in the Betterwang's thread.

htc clock widget

ok so im trying to figure out how to edit the htc clock widget to open a different clock like desk clock. can this be done?

def's uncommon rom is the only one that i know of that does it. good luck getting him to tell you how. def is one of my favorite dev, i'm not calling him out. all the dev keep there findings to them selves really.
question... how come people don't share there tweeks and hacks anymore?
i remember full threads on reg edits, tweeks, and hacks, that people would share with the world. I actually had threads where i would take requests, and cab them up for people to be able to install easily.
big difference between the WM day to the current droid days.
cody

^be very nice if this were the case. As fully customisable, unique rom, suited to your needs.
Sent from my Droid Incredible using XDA App

i sent a pm to the owner of the rom and i am awaiting a reply back. im not trying to take credit for something i just dont want to have to run beautiful widgets when i spent all the time on making custom flip clocks.

codyppc said:
def's uncommon rom is the only one that i know of that does it. good luck getting him to tell you how. def is one of my favorite dev, i'm not calling him out. all the dev keep there findings to them selves really.
question... how come people don't share there tweeks and hacks anymore?
i remember full threads on reg edits, tweeks, and hacks, that people would share with the world. I actually had threads where i would take requests, and cab them up for people to be able to install easily.
big difference between the WM day to the current droid days.
cody
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That is a very ****-headed thing to say. I am MORE than willing to help anyone out with reproducing ANY of my mods. I keep nothing secret, and I literally JUST replied to the OP's PM, just before reading your completely asinine comment. My PM box is FULL of questions AND answers with guidance on duplicating mods. Truth be told, I do not POST these modifications and how-to in their own threads for one reason only. I do not have the time to support them.

ok so i can find where the activity is and change it but when i push to the phone nothing changes...

deficitism said:
That is a very ****-headed thing to say. I am MORE than willing to help anyone out with reproducing ANY of my mods. I keep nothing secret, and I literally JUST replied to the OP's PM, just before reading your completely asinine comment. My PM box is FULL of questions AND answers with guidance on duplicating mods. Truth be told, I do not POST these modifications and how-to in their own threads for one reason only. I do not have the time to support them.
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Def, I was not trying to be a **** head and don't see that my post directed anything negative towards you. I was iust stating that a few years ago, members in the Windows mobile forums shared everything. Infact, there were http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/windows-mobile-hacks-tweaks/ forums just for regedits and hacks. I don't find that on the 2010 Android forums.
I didnt mention the guy who posted a zip file that was able to put the 6 bar signal meter in the task bar. He clearly stated that he pulled it out of your Rom. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8758884&postcount=22 Then your reply saying something about you not liking what he did. To me that said the Android developers didn't want the secret out of the bag. It's not just you. I have ran quite a few roms and really liked certain parts, but didn't keep it for the fact that I didn't like other parts. I have searched for ways to get just the good hacks and tweeks, but there just not there.
For the record..... I am sorry Def. I was not saying that your bad for not posting everything you do. I was just trying to say that there's a good chance he will not get the information he seeks. That's just the way Android forums are going these days.
here is a couple thing i would like to add to my roms, but cant find information on them. correct me if i'm wrong, but people just dont share this stuff.
1. 6 bar signal
2. htc clock widget launching vanilla clock
3. app drawer 5 icons wide,
4. battery percentage in battery icon
yes, def's roms have all of these. that is why i run his rom. at least until he bans me from his roms due to this thread.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

codyppc said:
Def, I was not trying to be a **** head and don't see that my post directed anything negative towards you. I was iust stating that a few years ago, members in the Windows mobile forums shared everything. Infact, there were forums just for regedits and hacks. I don't find that on the 2010 Android forums.
I didnt mention the guy who posted a zip file that was able to put the 6 bar signal meter in the task bar. He clearly stated that he pulled it out of your Rom. Then your reply saying something about you not liking what he did. To me that said the Android developers didn't want the secret out of the bag. It's not just you. I have ran quite a few roms and really liked certain parts, but didn't keep it for the fact that I didn't like other parts. I have searched for ways to get just the good hacks and tweeks, but there just not there.
For the record..... I am sorry Def. I was not saying that your bad for not posting everything you do. I was just trying to say that there's a good chance he will not get the information he seeks. That's just the way Android forums are going these days.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
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Well I would like to say he got me started and I found where the attribute is for opening world clock and I have changed it to deskclock but I think I'm doing something wrong with the apk tool because when I push it to the phone and launch it still opens world clock but in the files its self it says deskclock. I wish I knew more about the Android language but sadly I don't and I'm going to keep trying.

synisterwolf said:
Well I would like to say he got me started and I found where the attribute is for opening world clock and I have changed it to deskclock but I think I'm doing something wrong with the apk tool because when I push it to the phone and launch it still opens world clock but in the files its self it says deskclock. I wish I knew more about the Android language but sadly I don't and I'm going to keep trying.
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i am am really glad to see people like def who is trying to help others instead of just posting there roms.
I am 38 years old, married with 4 kids. i have been on the forums for a long time and know what and how they work. i was not trying to start anything, i love helping people and learning. that is why i like the forums.
i have made 2 apps for windows mobile and never thought of charging for them. one of the apps had over 20,000 downloads. my favorite thing to do was help people learn to make there own.
back on topic....
i would really like to have a zip to flash this htc clock mod. it is one of my favorite parts of def's uncommon rom. i dont have the time anymore to learn a lot of coding. at least i don't think so. kind of new to android so i dont know if it's easy or not. flashing zip files is easy. lol.

^ That would be pretty sweet! Wish everything was easy as flashing a zip.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

KGBxxx said:
^ That would be pretty sweet! Wish everything was easy as flashing a zip.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
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i use to cab up rededits for easy installs. i dont know if you know what red edits are or not, but many people wouldnt do them because they were tough. cab files were just like apk for android. zip files are just as easy really. maybe someday.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/windows-m...e-regedits-get-em-here-requests-welcomed.html

[Q][DEV] What are you using to make the roms? [Software or whatnots]

I was curious to what you the Developers of the awesome stuff we have for the Epic are using? Are you using the SDK tools we get from Google to make new things? Or are you using some other stuff? I kind of want to make some stuff but I don't know how?
Can you tell me what you used or are using to get where you are now? How do you do it? Can you tell me where or something?
Anything would be helpful.
And please no random "I want to know this too" or arguing to whats better? That would be saved for another post/thread. I do apologize if this is a repeat thread. I didn't see it on the front. I think this should be though.

I'm not at my computer at home right now, I'll update it later all of the apk tools.
1) Version control - I use subversion
2) Diff tool - I use beyond compare
3) Zip tool - I use 7zip
4) Issue tracking - I use Google code
5) Text editor - gVIM
6) Graphics - Photoshop CS5

I am curious as well.
Plapczyn, do you know of any tutorials on developing ROMs for the Epic? Does it require a lot of coding?

Source.google.com
Read it follow instructions to get and compile code. That lets you build a rom from source code where you can alter the os. The only source code that is released for the Epic is 2.1 As of now. If you have specific problems with doing any thing in their directions pm me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

ryno502 said:
I am curious as well.
Plapczyn, do you know of any tutorials on developing ROMs for the Epic? Does it require a lot of coding?
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There are lots and lots and lots of tutorials. Google is your friend.
It doesn't require much coding, but you can do plenty of coding if you want.

Will check it out, thanks.
I was just curious because I am not much of a programmer. XHTML, CSS, and Basic PHP is about my limit lol.

These might help...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=667298

ryno502 said:
I am curious as well.
Plapczyn, do you know of any tutorials on developing ROMs for the Epic? Does it require a lot of coding?
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Click to collapse
If you want to make roms, check out the Chef Central forum here on XDA. There are threads with a lot of info on how to do things. Also, you should check out what is going on the other Galaxy S forums. If you want to do dev stuff, you first need to figure out what you want to do, and then go from there. Making a rom (actually any development really, agnostic of device or system), is more about making and pulling in small incremental changes and testing them.
That's the best advice I can give you...is to always break things down into small incremental changes that can be tested in between. Use source control and CHECK IN your changes. This goes for simply swapping out pngs in apks, or doing kernel mods. That way, you always know where your latest working copy is and you what changes caused your system to break...which it inevitably will. Nobody codes things correctly the first time every time. We all have the urge to just make a whole bunch of changes at once and see if it works. The thought is that we don't have enough time to test everything in between. Trust me, you will spent 5 times more time fixing bugs by doing it this way, over just doing it right the first time.

thats good advice plapczyn, thank you. I will evaluate what I want to do and go from there. my #1 priority is app developement, to better my resume and help with my career, but I am interested is possibly experimenting in ROMs too.

[Q] need helps

i want to know how do i do to build a kernel for my htc desire, and ov/uc please thx

Try the Q&A section, where this should've been posted. Maybe you shouldn't be cooking kernels when you can't even manage to read forumpolicies

lol everyone learns and i want to learn how to make it just it

Alkan2 said:
lol everyone learns and i want to learn how to make it just it
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There is a q&a section on this forum, try there. This thread will probably soon be locked down once mods found out about it and most importantly, you won't get any help here.

hello noob!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvCpR45LKA&

Someone needs to take that ****e video off YouTube as it's harsh. How are we meant to build a community if people just shoot n00bs down before they know anything??

EddyOS said:
Someone needs to take that ****e video off YouTube as it's harsh. How are we meant to build a community if people just shoot n00bs down before they know anything??
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Don't wanna b adding too much to this thread but agree 1000 times with this comment...if it wasn't for noob threads I'd still be stuck with stock rubbish
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

This thread -> LOL

bailz2506 said:
Don't wanna b adding too much to this thread but agree 1000 times with this comment...if it wasn't for noob threads I'd still be stuck with stock rubbish
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
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I agree noob threads are great, they helped me immensely.. but the android development thread is there for a specific reason and so is the q&a thread
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I've been noticing the increase of stupid questions for a while but more importantly, I am getting fed up with the aggressive nature of some of the users. So people post in the wrong section, move post with warning, end of.
Also if the ROMS were cross posted to FAQ by default then more people would end up there instead of using the search to find the ROM title and ending up at the DEV thread.
xda is getting a bad rep for their mods and i'm not surprised. . . .

Alkan2 said:
i want to know how do i do to build a kernel for my htc desire, and ov/uc please thx
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Click to collapse
Returning to the original question.
The prerequisites for rolling your own kernel are:
- A linux system
- Terminal Know-how
- A synched GIT (such as the Bravo CM7 branch)
- Patience
That is just for building the stock kernel.
The additional prerequisites for changing stuff:
- A text editor
- A set of OC/UV values (such as Eviolett's)
- Experience in the linux terminal - more than for just compiling the stock kernel.
It doesn't seem like a lot of work - Sync the GIT, chuck in a few values, and build it. In reality, however, there is a stack of other stuff to do. I have a fairly good knowledge of the linux terminal, but still spent a stack more time getting everything ready than I wanted to (hours, in fact).
As motivated as you may be, it ain't a walk in the park, even with a detailed set of instructions. Stuff is going to go wrong, and a lot of the time, problems differ from those prescribed in the instructions.
Having been there, done that (or more accurately, failed to do that), this is just my two cents.
EDIT: Just to clarify, I failed miserably.

Bradshort said:
Also if the ROMS were cross posted to FAQ by default then more people would end up there instead of using the search to find the ROM title and ending up at the DEV thread.
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Nice idea but look at Robo's "RCMix S v2.0 Evolutionary Sense" thread" it has a separate RCMix Guide/Tutorial/FAQ + 2 irc channels now have a look through the 12000 odd posts in that thread maybe 50% are total spam by people who don't understand how a forum works, fail to do any independent research but expect someone to hold their hand and explain everything slowly to them. I don't condone it but i fully understand the reaction a lot of "dumb" superfluous posts get

This. Simple fact is most people are incredibly lazy and thinking that devs are here to answer their every stupid question.

Terepin said:
This. Simple fact is most people are incredibly lazy and thinking that devs are here to answer their every stupid question.
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Must agree.. I spent probably 10+ hours researching before I flashed my first ROM..
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I totally agree with fllash. It looks easy, but it certainly isn't.
Just start with downloading a copy of Ubuntu, version 10.04 and up will do just fine.
Why Ubuntu? Well, if you're only starting out with Linux and the more advanced topics such as compiling your own kernel, you'll need all the help you can get. XDA is a great community with a lot of information to be found, but it sure won't cover all the questions you'll have, so you might want to search trough the Ubuntu forums etc., as they might have more specific answers to your questions. There are also numerous books about starting with Linux, so you might want to check those out as well.
When you got a nice grip on working in Linux and the terminal, it's time to get busy programming!
If you're not a programmer already, you might want to start with Java. (Maybe write a little Android program? That way you'll also learn how Android works)
The Linux kernel is written in C and that might be a bit harsh to start out with. However, if you feel confident enough (or if you have programming skills already), go get yourself a book about programming in C, search some tutorials and start off writing some easy and silly programs, just to get a good grip on the language.
When you feel like you got a good grip on programming in C, feel free to download a kernel which is already compatible with the HTC Desire, one from CM or one from Thalamus (from Oxygen ROM) and take a look at the source code. Try to understand what makes it tick. Please note, that these kenels are for AOSP ROM's only! If you want a HTC Sense compatible kernel, go get the source from HTC which you can find here: http://developer.htc.com
By the time you got this far, it's only a piece of cake to compile and install. (Compiling and installing really isn't the hardest part about all this, so you'll manage to find your way out of this one)
Right now, you're probably thinking: "Is this all necessary? I just want my own kernel.." Well, yeah, it kinda is. You just can't follow a tutorial and end up with a kernel which is going to be great. There are going to be bugs, you're going to have problems, nothing will work from the first try.
Maintaining a kernel is hard work and requires a lot of knowledge in order to do a proper job.
Also, take a look at http://developer.android.com/. Knowing how Android works is kinda a requirement as well (at least, I consider it to be a requirement).
Oh, and for the record, please post in the correct forums next time. There's a Q&A section where you can search for, or ask questions. I understand that this is a dev-related question and you might have figured that the dev section would do fine, but unfortunately, it doesn't.
Okay? Well, happy learning! Don't let other forum members or some tough luck get you down.

[Q] Adding phone functionality to "inactive phone rom"

Hey everyone, I have a couple of questions. First off as you can see from my post count I'm a lurker. I can remove/install ROMs, the basics, but never have I tried to add/remove apps or functions to one. So I've found a ROM I love, but it was designed with inactive phones in mind, to make them into second life usable music/video players. It has no phone functionality because of this. The one I'm interested in is by frickinjerms - Ubersonic - I hope I can modify others work for my personal use. Guess that should be a question too.
Would it be ok to add in phone functionality or would it be easier to find one with that already and just remove the fluff I don't want and add what I do?
As I understand it, I can just add it back in, but I'm unsure what files go back in. Is there a resource that outlines that anywhere, or can anyone throw me a bone?
Is it ok to modify the work of others for your personal use without asking, or should you seek approval first out of proper etiquette?
I've been searching through XDA and other sites looking for some basic beginners stuff for cooking up ROMs, but have only come across limited collections. I'm toying with dsixda's Android Kitchen right now, but would love to find other resources. So any pointers to learning resources would be great too.
Thanks!

For the last one, I personally believe that its not necessary to ask before modifying a rom thats for your personal use because only you will know about it anyway, and people do it all the time
You only need to ask for permission if you're reposting your personal version of someone elses rom
Sent from my PG06100

CNexus said:
For the last one, I personally believe that its not necessary to ask before modifying a rom thats for your personal use because only you will know about it anyway, and people do it all the time
You only need to ask for permission if you're reposting your personal version of someone elses rom
Sent from my PG06100
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I figured that was likely the case I just wanted to clarify it for myself. I know people put in a lot of work on some of their ROMs and don't want to step on toes.
Thanks for the response.

You know you could use a rom that does have phone functionality. Just throwing that out there.

PlatinumPenguin said:
You know you could use a rom that does have phone functionality. Just throwing that out there.
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Whats the point of flavors if you're forced to pick the one you don't like? Just throwing that out there.
I don't think my questions were unreasonable either. I'm not asking for someone to build me something, I'm asking for the fishing pole, not the fish.