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[Android] [POLL] Bugtracking/Communication system

Hi guys,
so, as there are some possibilities, and the question arised, here's a little poll for you.
It's about how developers and users/testers of Android should best communicate.
Quick overview:
This thread has 4k+ entries now, but many people are watching it. It's more like an IRC channel, though.
The Linux-To-Go site has 4 different trackers (bugs, patches, support, feature requests), and a news system and a little bit more. Sometimes it is quite slow, but since they've just got a new sponsor, I think they're working out how to distribute the load.
I have already asked whether we can have a subforum, and the site admin seemed positive about it, but wanted to see into which directions the Mod's discussions were.
If you have a better idea, please post!
Stefan

I prefer the googlecode bugtracker, since the most people dosnt need to create an new account, it is simple but powerfull. And the ui looks much better then the Linux-To-Go one.

Looks like guys here voting mostly for just subforum. May I suggest in this case that there would be few sticky topics for guides/overall discussion and the rest is topic per bug type-o-thing? Someone would be a moderator, of course.

it doesn't even matter what we / you think - the only votes that matter are the ones of the developers.
git seems to work quite well for developing - if ltg is too slow - it shouldn't be a problem to clone it to a faster repo elsewhere (afaik there's already a faster one in place - can't remember the address) - also after the initial setup it doesn't really matter how slow it is anymore (unless you don't know how to use git and constantly start over from scratch).
As for bugtracking - are there developers interested in bugtracking? I think they're well aware of what needs work.
(e.g. for Polaris it's documented in the wiki)
What we really need at the moment is kernel developers for various devices.
just my 2 ¢

Tip
I don't dislike the idea of a full thread as it was...but i feel we should split threats into 50 posts. After could be "Part II" , "Part III"...etc.
Hugs

excogitation said:
As for bugtracking - are there developers interested in bugtracking? I think they're well aware of what needs work.
(e.g. for Polaris it's documented in the wiki)
What we really need at the moment is kernel developers for various devices.
just my 2 ¢
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I suggested a bug tracker, even for developers-internal use because then one can see what the other devs are working on and that one doesn't have to care about the problem...
More developers would be good, of course!!
Stefan

seidler2547 said:
Actually, I suggested a bug tracker, even for developers-internal use because then one can see what the other devs are working on and that one doesn't have to care about the problem...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is more to it. First, more eyes will be able to find more bugs. Second, bug tracker allows instead of keeping all bugs in head, constantly trying to remember them all, keep in head only one on which working currently, while the rest is recorded in database according to their priority. No one has superhuman memory. Also, bugtracking important because people generally happier with product that is with not too many features but robust rather than product with whole bunch of awesomeness but also hosting whole hive of bugs. Here's good article on bugtracking.

Thanks MooNWalker. Seems we should try to push a bit more for a subforum, and use the bugtracker for the reasons you said. We should see if the LTG one can be extended so that people will not have to sign up in order to make contributions. The site itself seems fast right now.
Stefan

Ok, we will try with the bugtracker.
Go here to see the bugs and to enter new ones.
Stefan

@seidler2547: Can you change something there? It is currently not obvious that this is the bugtracker for Kaiser Android. You have to know that this is the right place there. If i was new here and i what to fast post a bug, i will be very confused if the bugtracker is the right one.

Hi lanwin, dzo set up the tracker name. Anyway, it is a bit cryptic because it is not only for Kaiser Android. It is for running Linux (and with it Android) on MSM7x00 devices, that is Kaiser, Nike, Polaris, Vogue and so on. We have a common hardware base, so we coordinate our development. You know you're on the right bug tracker because -> the link here says so, and -> this is the only one in mobile-linux you can report bugs without logging in
Having said that, we can think about the name nevertheless. What do you suggest?
Stefan

Hi Stefan, yep i know that but a non technical user wouldn't do. Even if it is ugly, i suggest "Android for Kaiser, Nike, Polaris, Vogue (MSM7x00)".
Anyway, thanks for bringing Android for this platforms forward!

new sub forum
i think a sub forum is good because it will allow for more specific threads.
it will also allow us to get an rss feed of all things android
finally, can't the current long thread just be moved into the sub-forum? no one will be forced to start or look at new threads, but it will be there.
Does it really affect anything in a negative way or preclude the other options?
Android development is only going to pickup, and i expect we will see a corresponding drop off in WM.
Lets think about what the development scene is going to look like in 2 years... even after we've all moved on from our current phones.
The question is: Can/Should/Will xda-devs be the place for android development too?

seidler2547 said:
Having said that, we can think about the name nevertheless. What do you suggest?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put link to bugtracker in Android on HTC wiki. Might be helpfull to put it in first post on main thread.

I think this bugtracker was for the full Android port, but it seems that it is only for the kernel so all my bugs are closed with "This is not related to this project (Linux kernel for mobile devices) but to the google android user space and must hence be moved.".
Where to report user spaces related bugs?

That is a good question. I have seen the close, but I'm not too happy with it, although I understand the reasons. Maybe we need to make an extra google bugtracker, as someone suggested.
Stefan

I think the original android post has really become quite cumbersome, I voted for a subforum but I don't really care as long as I am able to see what is going on. The old post has become unorganized there are a bunch of different sites and stuff on that post to get builds and kernels and what not from and I have become somewhat confused with it all. I am curious though as to how many people are actually working on this at our end the only one I see actively posting is seidler is dzo or polypoly still working on it. I'm having problems getting some of the files required listed on source.android.com fiqured I would give it a wack, probly a short wack.

seidler2547 said:
That is a good question. I have seen the close, but I'm not too happy with it, although I understand the reasons. Maybe we need to make an extra google bugtracker, as someone suggested.
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was me I am against a sub forum. Forums are very bad in cases of a bugtracking functionality because there is no bug management available and users tend to use one thread for bug reporting, questions and discussion where it is really hard to find out the bugs for the devs.
I think there should only be one bugtracker for the users because the most of them can not distinguish between user space and kernel space bugs and requests.
I suggest to open a user friendly google code bugtracker and some of the devs move bugs related to kernel space over to the other bugtracker.

[Poll] New "Android only" forum?

These past weeks I've noticed an increase of irrelevant threads and clutter being made in regards to Android development in the HTC Dream forum and every other Android development forum on xda. A lot of Android devices out on the market now are not made by HTC. This of course is causing a problem since this forum is for HTC devices only.
Maybe it would be a good idea if a new forum was created that accounts for all native Android devices (Motorola Droid/Milestone, Motorola Cliq/Dext, Samsung Galaxy, etc...). That way, a lot of the clutter would surely be resolved and a considerate load would be taken off of this server (Gotta hate the horrible load on xda these days...).
I'm sure there are quiet a few people on here that have an HTC device and are fully satisfied with it (Me included!). That doesn't mean that everyone else has to feel the same way. People that choose to go with Samsung, Motorola, etc. for their next Android device should not be left out. That's why I believe there should definitely be a forum that serves everyone.
To put up a new forum specifically for this matter takes no time at all, but it does take participation. So if you feel like this is something you would like to see, please feel free to leave a comment.
What are you're opinions on this matter? Agree? Disagree?
Discuss.
If there's enough people interested in this project, would there be anyone willing to help getting things started in terms of hosting space or something similar?

Sorry, I misunderstood "a new forum was created that accounts for all native Android devices" to mean that a new subforum on XDA should be made, so I voted no. Upon reading it again, I realized you meant to create an independant Android specific site, which I would actually be in favor of. So while I can't change my vote officially, you should know that one of the "No" votes should actually be considered a "Yes" vote.

Yea, sorry. I meant that there should be a completly new forum for all android devices (not a subforum on xda). Thanks for your vote!
Like I mentioned before, there are definitely more people who agree than those who disagree. Only problem will be to spread the word I guess.

I think XDA-Developers needs to be divided into a Windows Mobile and an Android section and those need to be further divided into HTC and non-HTC ones.
With more and more Android devices, and rising competition for HTC from Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson etc., XDA-Developers cannot stay WM-focused and HTC-only without becoming irrelevant and losing its no.1 status for everything concerning WM and Android development.
EDIT: OR make independent, but linked together, sites for WM and Android and for different manufacturers.

maati said:
EDIT: OR make independent, but linked together, sites for WM and Android and for different manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I'm thinking as well.

I forsee good things to come from this. Or the thread just being closed.
There needs to be a WinMo forum and Android Forum that are both linked from the home page.

I would be all for this, and would be more than happy to fund the project. Hosting, domain fees, coding ect..

I agree completely. It's also annoying to see various large Android Community sites popping up, which deal with everything android, including all models, which includes HTC models... because they are invading the "mindshare", if you will, of "where does one go to get best development and mod info for android OS phones?" ... When the first Android devices were only HTC, this was not an issue, as HTC was correctly housed here and had Android devices forums added.
But yes, the whole touchscreen marketplace has erupted and fractured in the last 6 months, and it would be a bad thing, in my view, if XDA were to become relegated to a "boutique" site, that was great with SOME andorid devices, but AWOL on others.. And as the original poster notes, there is only bound to be more and more cross-device discussion and innovation developments for the whole android platform.
my 3 cents...
maati said:
I think XDA-Developers needs to be divided into a Windows Mobile and an Android section and those need to be further divided into HTC and non-HTC ones.
With more and more Android devices, and rising competition for HTC from Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson etc., XDA-Developers cannot stay WM-focused and HTC-only without becoming irrelevant and losing its no.1 status for everything concerning WM and Android development.
EDIT: OR make independent, but linked together, sites for WM and Android and for different manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

So are most of you in favor that an independent site for Android-only devices should be made (WinMo-only devices could also be added later on to another section).
Or do you think that xda should try to change their forum around so that it will fulfill our needs?

Bavilo said:
So are most of you in favor that an independent site for Android-only devices should be made (WinMo-only devices could also be added later on to another section).
Or do you think that xda should try to change their forum around so that it will fulfill our needs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm totally new to Android; have not even purchased my HERO yet. So take this with a grain of salt... but to me, I think the train already left the station... In the past three weeks as I have investigated HTC Hero, I have encountered 4 or 5 rather substantial communities already built around Android.... I will just list a few of them. Being truthful, there have been very few poll participants here... and it may well be the case that what you are envisioning as a resource already exists -- it's just not here.
So, to me, you either have to (A) turn the whole mothership around (XDA-devs) and try to make a case for why non-HTC devices should fit in more officially here (they are already accomodated "unofficially" and have been for quite some time on the WinMo side -- with tons of questions asked in many a forum about "What about the Omnia? can you release that for Omnia?" and same for Sony Xperia, as just two examples....
or (B) bridge-out to one or more of the communities already developed around modding Android phones... (but again, I am prob the wrong person to comment since I am brand new to Android... )
http://androidforums.com/
http://androidcommunity.com/forums/index.php
http://forum.androidcentral.com/
http://modmygphone.com/forums/

To me, most of those sites just feel like user communities but not any real development like here at XDA.

narunetto said:
To me, most of those sites just feel like user communities but not any real development like here at XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I want to change. And thanks to Craiger22 this might be possible very soon!

I do think this site needs to drop it's HTC bias to be honest. It makes choosing a new handset quite horrible. On one hand HTC devices get software support on this forum (which is still the best out there). But on the other hand there are some very nice non-HTC devices coming up. It makes choosing a handset a lot harder.
Fair enough if there's some sort of official affiliation with HTC, I can understand that. But is it not just some nostalgic bias relating to the origins of this site? That's the way I understand it anyway.
Personally there's no HTC hardware I want right now and I think that it's a shame that when I replace my X1 I will (if the HTC hardware situation remains similar to how it is now) wind up leaving this community.

How to learn how to root and MOD an Android Device

I'm currently reading on becoming an Android developer. But I've caught an interest in hacking Android phones. My biggest question is how do you learn how to root Android phones??????? I hope someone will be nice enough and point me in a good direction. My current Android device is an CDMA HTC Hero and saw reports of 2.2 being ported on it but everything is not working. I figure this could be my first project Finishing the 2.2 on the Hero but how do I do that. So if any one can PLEASE help.

Android is based on the Linux platform. I would imagine that most of the people that are doing the heavy work on android know quite a bit about Linux, as it pertains alot to these devices.

You should learn C and C++. Also, you should read up on the Linux Kernel and all you can about Android's framework. I don't know specifically about the Hero, but it's probably not all working due to driver issues.
This is a HUGE undertaking to a new coder.

Could you please rephrase your question about android hacking please? Like do you mean you wish to be able to come up with your own exploits and find your own ways to root a phone, or do you mean something along the lines of using current exploits and developing your own roms and such?
~PsyCl0ne

Hi all,
I know this thread is quite old but I wanted to have some info about the rooting topic.
My question is about the general development necessary to root a phone, sdks and tools needed.
I know already a bit of Linux and C, C++ but I don't know how the rooting work exactly. It seemed to me it is a program that runs when connected to the phone in the boot loader menu.
I think it would be useful a guide made by using an example, like the code used to root the Nexus 1 (I own one so I could put that in practice)
Thanks

me too.. same with conte79

[Q] Is it possible to install android on a phone that doesn't have it?

I know this question should be obvious but I am not a developer so I don't know for sure. I am wanting to get a lg 800g for my dad and put android on it. The os it has on it looks like android but it isn't. I was wondering if it would be possible to put android on it so the phone could be more compatible possibly.

The most likely answer is 'no'. The device doesn't appear to be nearly powerful enough to support Android. Even if it were, you'd need massive community support to port Android over, and it doesn't appear that that exists for this device.
To answer your subject-line question more generally, in the vast majority of cases, this is not possible. The rare exceptions usually involve devices that use derivatives of Android, like the Nook Color.

We have great android ports on our hp touchpad including cm7 and miui . I'd say this device definitely would not be easy, but hey, its android so you never know what magic will happen. I hope you are able to find a community of people willing to help you with that phone. Not sure what kind of experience you have, but why not see where you can get on a port for yourself and then ask some recognized developers what direction you need to head. If you paid, im sure a few devs would do it for you

Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A

Windows8 section??? why??

Why is the Windows8 section kept as is?
there is a Winphone8 section to replace it.
do you intend to have Linux and MacOS as part of the forum as well now, having developers on regular platforms and not only mobile available here now too?
Seems to be incorrect and misplaced , not saying out of the ordinary when its here but not really supported by many.

There should definitely be a Linux forum here IMO considering that Linux has a lot of potential on the tablets and phones we see now..

ya I would love to see xda having a Linux specific forum

speed_bot said:
ya I would love to see xda having a Linux specific forum
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Click to collapse
I am too, i think linux is the best for that...:good:

Closed
Same as this thread, not posted in the proper section