First, rant aside, we really do welcome you to the world of Android. CrossBow wrote: > My first few feeble attempts to do anything with the Android source > have been even more frustrating.
Issues related to the Android source code are probably best asked on lists related to the Android source code: http://source.android.com/discuss This list is for discussion of applications written to the SDK. This is an important distinction, as you'll see below. > As a simple start, I decided to try to add a Green text on Black > background option to Term.apk. At first, I tried to pull out the > source and build it as a seperate project. I got it set up to built > by itself, and ran into the fact that android.os.Exec is appearenty > not in the SDK. > > That's interesting, since the introduction video states that there are > no hidden or reserved API's. Apparently, there are no hidden API's > except that one. If I try to build something else, I guess I'll find > there are no hidden API's except android.os.Exec, and whatever I need > to build what ever I try next. There are no hidden or reserved APIs. That does not mean all APIs are in the SDK. Many of the built-in applications, unfortunately, are not built against the SDK, but against the full Android source code base. The core Android team has stated their intent to change this, in time. > I guess I am kinda missing the point of Android being open source. If > I can't even change a color value, and/or some text, re-compile, and > have an executable with different colors in it, it does not seem very > open source to me. You perhaps didn't build enough of the repo. I don't work on the firmware myself, but I get the impression that you need to do a complete build of the whole system first before you can recompile bits and pieces. Again, though, I'm far from an expert on the firmware. Furthermore, please understand that there is a difference between open source and collaborative development. Open source is a statement of licensing. What you are encountering isn't an issue of whether or not Android is open source, but whether or not Android is ready for collaborative development. Since Android's source code release is fairly recent (~4 months), and since the code base is huge, it's probably safe to say that Android is ready for collaborative development only for those with large quantities of patience. > Why can't I build Term.apk? What am I doing wrong? If you ask your questions again on a list aimed at the Android source code, and possibly a pinch less rant-y, you may be able to get better assistance than what I can provide here. This is a fine list if you are working on a pure application, though, and have questions. For example, if you wanted to work on font colors for ConnectBot (SSH terminal, a third-party open source app) and ran into trouble with the SDK APIs, this list may be a good place to ask questions. -- Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy) http://commonsware.com _The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development_ Version 2.0 Published! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Beginners" group. To post to this group, send email to android-beginners@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-beginners-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-beginners?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
