Kernel source availibility - Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

I just switched over to the Blaze from the Sensation (very similar phones) due to a handset warranty claim and was wondering if the kernel source is available for this ROM.
I have a lot of development experience, and while none of it is in kernel work, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring and see if I can give some kernel love to the blaze... add some of the features in other mernels to our Blaze.

Related

[Q] Where Are The AOSP Roms and Full Custom Kernels

So how long do you think it will be till we get some AOSP Roms?
Example I bought this phone because I had to have Wifi Calling since the area I lived in, and bought the phone for the specs.
But I know not everyone loves Sense and was wondering when we will see the full AOSP Roms that are just pure Android.
Also how long do you think it will be till we see some real kernels with features.
Full EXT4
BFS Scheduler
Overclock upto 2Ghz (if possible, since phones can do 1.78 fine)
Kernel update to 2.6.38
updated drivers
I know we got the kernel source from HTC.
Also when are we going to see good ol Cyanogenmod 7!!!
I would be happy with one good AOSP rom for right now

Pledge a bounty for CyanogenMod 7 on the myTouch 4G Slide

OK Guys, I am straight copying this from, fcreeves, the one he put up about the Virtuous ROM
I have had more MT4G's (not SLIDE - Glacier) for quite some time. I run nightlys on it and I REALLY miss the hell out of it. I like sense, it's nice and all but I REEEEALLY don't need it. I also really need the Power Options that CyanogenMod offers.
Here I am now with a MT4GS. NO Custom ROMs. I am sick of checking this Dev Section for a custom ROM(s) and decided to copy someone that had an idea about doing something about it.
CyanognMod Donate Page
You don't have to be logged in but if you are they give you some type of status on your name.
I have donated $40 to the CyanogenMod Team and requested that they make a version for MT4GS aka DoubleShot.
The team NEEDS a device to make substantial development possible. That is understandable.
I have donated 40$ USD, via paypal.
Transaction ID: 09J16268PM889413E
Note I put in Special Instructions:
This is for CyanogenMod 7 on the Doubleshot A.K.A. T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide. Thank you for all you do.
I hope others will follow.
If you want the CyanogenMod 7 ROM on your MT4GS... PLEASE SPEAK UP AND DONATE! <---PLEDGE FOR NOW
Please only replay with ACTUAL TRANSACTION IDS! Show them you are VERY Serious.
#34124112jt9835317
$25.00
Though I'm not replying with transaction ID, I AM SERIOUS. I just got a MT4GS and was quite satisfied with the hardware, but being an old CM (CyanogenMod for Milestone, an official port with excellent quality thanks to its great developer nadlabak) user Sense can be disappointing in every sense (except the cute colorful icons of the Settings menu).
I have quite some Linux development experience, a little embedded system experience, and (hopefully) a friend who is doing Android driver development, so I'm looking forward to participating in porting CM to MT4GS. However, by any means NO GUARANTEE here; therefore I'm not asking nor accepting any donation (for now). I can start the development at most as early as the Chinese winter vacation begins (which is roughly Jan. 15th next year).
Additionally, some words on porting CM to MT4GS: MT4GS and MT4G share quite some hardware, so development should start as porting MT4G's CM to MT4GS. The major difference between the two models, namely the hi-resolution rear camera and the dual-core CPU would pose the main challenge. The keyboard should be trivial; but I really appreciate the design of Caps Lock and Alt Lock light and making it work may take some time.
We are not getting any cm7 support until HTC releases the source code needed to produce an aosp based rom (The Kernel) So you guys need to chill for a bit. We are stuck with sensed base roms until then.
Sent from my Supercharged MT4G Slide Running Undead's Stock Sense ROM using xda premium
I haven't got much experience in ROM development, so I'm quitely likely to wrong; if so, point me out.
Undeadk9 said:
We are not getting any cm7 support until HTC releases the source code needed to produce an aosp based rom (The Kernel) So you guys need to chill for a bit. We are stuck with sensed base roms until then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, we are not getting official CyanogenMod support because we can't build an AOSP kernel (yet). But after all, Android (and CyanogenMod) is mostly about the Dalvik VM, which is fortunately above the kernel. Thus a port is not necessarily an official one with an AOSP kernel.
The Motorola Milestone, for instance, has its bootloader locked, which leads to locked kernel, but the developer (nadlabak) was able to build a CyanogenMod port on top of the stock kernel - that is, the init scripts, a customized Dalvik VM, and all the system apk's. Modification of the kernel is still possible through dynamic loading of kernel modules (.ko files), which is quite tedious but nevertheless still possible. The Milestone port of CM is by any means CM except the kernel which is stripped from stock ROM and included as a binary blob along with everything else built from scratch (or from source, from AOSP, from CM).
The case with MT4GS is a little better and a little worse. It is a little better because MT4GS has an open bootloader and therefore we can use a customized kernel as soon as we can build one. (In the case of Milestone, the locked bootloader will only load kernels signed by Motorola.) It is a little worse because Milestone has a sister model with almost identical hardware (Motorola Droid) with official CM support; the closest model to MT4GS with official CM support is MT4G, which is still substantially different.
You are comparing apples to oranges my friend.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
Undeadk9 said:
You are comparing apples to oranges my friend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I claimed, I'm likely to be wrong. But, care to explain a little bit? I'm not a native speaker and I don't quite get the simile.
Also, I'm curious about where I can find out whether HTC has released, for any certain model, the code necessary to build a kernel. Please share some links.
www.htcdev.com
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
xiaq said:
As I claimed, I'm likely to be wrong. But, care to explain a little bit? I'm not a native speaker and I don't quite get the simile.
Also, I'm curious about where I can find out whether HTC has released, for any certain model, the code necessary to build a kernel. Please share some links.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the MT4GS was the twin of the htc sensation with slight differences.
Noooooo not really.
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium
They are more like cousins then twins. Lol
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium

Google already rolling out ICS 4.0.4?

This is what makes me crazy about Google and Android (and yes, companies like Samsung) - the uneven distribution of updates (I know, I know). In this case, some devices are already receiving 4.0.4 while many of us are still stuck waiting for the (empty?) promises to update to 4.0.
Just sayin'.
http://androidcommunity.com/android-4-0-4-ics-rolling-out-for-nexus-s-xoom-and-galaxy-nexus-20120328/
Google just develop the OS itself. Whether the device run the system depends on hardware vendor.
The current situation is like MS just released Windows 7 but your PC(part) manufacturer has not released new driver yet.
That is a good way to look at it and completely agree with it. The laptop I have hasn't seen a graphics driver update in 6 months now. Something that should be kept up to date on a monthly basis
If it really comes down to it hopefully Samsung will get their act together and release the full source code for our Tablet. Than at that point we can take matters into our own hands.
C'mon guys. The 4.0.3 had lots of bugs. I updated it on my GF'S Nexus S when just been released and battery was drained in few hours. Devs from all devices (for example Xoom - which I have) had to work out to fix issues that have been fixed by Google after months in 4.0.4
So I'm not so disappointed for having not received the 4.0.3 (even 'cuz we have too few devs). I trust in Samsung and believe there will be avaible on April Let's wait
N.b.
I have a Galaxy Note and the only ROMS for ICS avaibles are leaked from the Chinese version of my device. ICS has not been released yet (and we're talking about NOTE...)
Sent from my Galaxy Note with DarkyROM 3.3
i don't really care what bs version samsung is going to release for tab plus's ICS.
the only thing i care is the source code! the faster they release the source code, the faster someone could work on CM9 for tab7plus. THAT is what matter!
gingerboy92 said:
i don't really care what bs version samsung is going to release for tab plus's ICS.
the only thing i care is the source code! the faster they release the source code, the faster someone could work on CM9 for tab7plus. THAT is what matter!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS source from Samsung has no real effect on CM9. CyanogenMod is an AOSP ROM which means that it's not built from Samsung's sources, it's built straight from Google's upstream sources. That's how devices like the HP TouchPad, Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have CM9 builds now - none of these devices ever had ICS sources released.
Right now, the only thing that's really holding back CM9 development on the tab7plus is a lack of tab7plus owners contributing to a CM9 port.
yeah Im waiting for CM9, gave up on Samsung. If they release it great. Id rather CM9 anyday, even with no wifi!!
h2g2 said:
ICS source from Samsung has no real effect on CM9. CyanogenMod is an AOSP ROM which means that it's not built from Samsung's sources, it's built straight from Google's upstream sources. That's how devices like the HP TouchPad, Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet have CM9 builds now - none of these devices ever had ICS sources released.
Right now, the only thing that's really holding back CM9 development on the tab7plus is a lack of tab7plus owners contributing to a CM9 port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not the kernel source, and don't forget the wireless chip/adapter/card(?)'s source code.
but yeah, i do agree. we need more devs to work on our tab!
We're still lacking driver source (i.e. our Atheros wifi driver) so even if we got someone to port CM9 to our tabs, we'd have no wifi functionality. The only way to get drivers (with no proper source code released for them) is to reverse engineer the driver(s) themselves, which is a difficult task to say the least.
The reason why most of us say we're waiting for our tabs "ICS Source" is because we're hoping Samsung actually releases our wifi Driver Source code this time.
But...if I remember correctly...someone had pointed out that although Samsung had not released proper source code for our wifi driver, another Sony device that uses it had released code that we could "possibly" use. No one has really confirmed nor denied anything past that recently. Maybe Gary can comment on this issue soon, could clear up a lot of questions for me and everyone else
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
the real problem here is that samsung is "promising" ICS "soon". it would be easier if they say they are going to release it next year or even not going to release it at all.
gingerboy92 said:
not the kernel source, and don't forget the wireless chip/adapter/card(?)'s source code.
but yeah, i do agree. we need more devs to work on our tab!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel source doesn't mean driver sources. Remember that drivers don't need to be integrated into the kernel - if Samsung (or the manufacturer of the device) chooses to implement the driver as a binary-only lkm, there's no obligation on Samsung's part to release the source code for the driver.
This has been a problem with Linux drivers in general for a while. I could be wrong, but my sense is that if the needed driver isn't already available in source code from the manufacturer directly, it's unlikely that Samsung will include it in their kernel sources.
---------- Post added at 10:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------
Ceelos09 said:
We're still lacking driver source (i.e. our Atheros wifi driver) so even if we got someone to port CM9 to our tabs, we'd have no wifi functionality. The only way to get drivers (with no proper source code released for them) is to reverse engineer the driver(s) themselves, which is a difficult task to say the least.
The reason why most of us say we're waiting for our tabs "ICS Source" is because we're hoping Samsung actually releases our wifi Driver Source code this time.
But...if I remember correctly...someone had pointed out that although Samsung had not released proper source code for our wifi driver, another Sony device that uses it had released code that we could "possibly" use. No one has really confirmed nor denied anything past that recently. Maybe Gary can comment on this issue soon, could clear up a lot of questions for me and everyone else
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that if Samsung has not released the needed sources previously, they probably won't do so with ICS. This is just pure speculation on my part, it's possible Samsung's failure to release wifi driver source was an oversight on Samsung's part but if that were the case, it seems like they would have fixed that already.
I don't know what chip the GT7P uses but some Googling suggests that it's an Atheros 6000 series. If that's the case, the Linux driver source is available: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ar6k
ar6k isn't part of the mainline Linux kernel so there's no obligation on Samsung's part to release it as part of their kernel source release. Whether Samsung is obligated to release their ar6k driver source is probably dependent on their agreement with Atheros (ie, just because an open source Linux ar6k exists doesn't preclude the possibility that Samsung licensed a non-GPL version of the driver).
h2g2 said:
Right now, the only thing that's really holding back CM9 development on the tab7plus is a lack of tab7plus owners contributing to a CM9 port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the best way for us Tab 7.0+ owners to contribute?
h2g2 said:
Kernel source doesn't mean driver sources. Remember that drivers don't need to be integrated into the kernel - if Samsung (or the manufacturer of the device) chooses to implement the driver as a binary-only lkm, there's no obligation on Samsung's part to release the source code for the driver.
This has been a problem with Linux drivers in general for a while. I could be wrong, but my sense is that if the needed driver isn't already available in source code from the manufacturer directly, it's unlikely that Samsung will include it in their kernel sources.
---------- Post added at 10:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 PM ----------
My guess is that if Samsung has not released the needed sources previously, they probably won't do so with ICS. This is just pure speculation on my part, it's possible Samsung's failure to release wifi driver source was an oversight on Samsung's part but if that were the case, it seems like they would have fixed that already.
I don't know what chip the GT7P uses but some Googling suggests that it's an Atheros 6000 series. If that's the case, the Linux driver source is available: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ar6k
ar6k isn't part of the mainline Linux kernel so there's no obligation on Samsung's part to release it as part of their kernel source release. Whether Samsung is obligated to release their ar6k driver source is probably dependent on their agreement with Atheros (ie, just because an open source Linux ar6k exists doesn't preclude the possibility that Samsung licensed a non-GPL version of the driver).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the clarification.
bittersound said:
What is the best way for us Tab 7.0+ owners to contribute?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a general sense, there is no answer as it depends on what the problem is. If there are willing developers who don't have access to hardware, you can always donate hardware or chip in to help with that. If there aren't enough willing developers, well, you just have to learn to code or chip in for a bounty to get a developer interested. If, on the other hand, it's a lack of vital documentation or source code from Samsung, well, there's not much you can do except perhaps get some sort of letter writing or phone call campaign over to the appropriate corporate offices.
In a specific sense, best bet is to go over to the development sub-forum, find someone with a project you'd like to support and ask them what help they need.
Gary once mentioned he would help with porting CM9, but he did make it clear to us that it would be a while until he would jump in to help. Life must be keeping him busy atm.
For now, I'm working on learning some code, maybe I'll be of "some" help down the road.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

A little hope to be official.

The CyanogenMod team will be dropping support for devices with the older processors including the Nexus One & the Bravo (many more, too).
I think this means The CyanogenMod team will start focusing one more devices with dual-core processors. I think.. including the Blaze 4G. What do you guys think.?
Sent from my bathroom.
Not unless we get a SGS4G in the hands of a dev, or convince one of them to grab it over something else.
Didn't know the S3 chip is old lol. My brother has a Galaxy S3 and honestly in everyday performance this phone does not fall behind and often surpassed the S3. I tested both phones in a bunch of games and tasks. The number of cores on a phone is a bit overestimated.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda premium
i don't think we will get an official update from the cyanogenmod team!
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S:_FAQ
while the CPU for our phone came out almost 2 years ago, it's capable of running ICS just fine... the T989 is proof of that, it's virtually identical to ours. What we need is the kernel sources for this phone for ICS and that can only come from Samsung. Once that is released, setting up ICS should be easy. Hell, we could just copy the majority of the T989 (T-Mo SGS2) source tree for CM.
dr4stic said:
while the CPU for our phone came out almost 2 years ago, it's capable of running ICS just fine... the T989 is proof of that, it's virtually identical to ours. What we need is the kernel sources for this phone for ICS and that can only come from Samsung. Once that is released, setting up ICS should be easy. Hell, we could just copy the majority of the T989 (T-Mo SGS2) source tree for CM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds good!! hope we get it soon!!

Stability and open source drivers

I've used a few other androids before with custom ROMs, and a major obstacle to stability seems to often be the fact that manufacturers typically don't include open source drivers, which leads to reverse engineered open source drivers being developed on xda, which often aren't as good as the binaries that can only be used with stock based ROMs.
Since the OPP ships with cm11, does this mean that it uses open source drivers that will work well with any open source ROM?
I'm not dev, but my guess is not entirely. Qualcomm is extremely protective of it's IP, which is why the Nexus 7 2013 source got pulled momentarily I think. This device run their SOC do I assume it'll use their drivers.
But as you can see there are a good number of roms for it already, so it's still a dev friendly device. They released their kernel source so it's useful for making AOSP roms and regular CM11, but certain features from CM11S is not available. CM isn't fully open source either from what I understand.
If the device was running pure AOSP with no Google services and using Texus Instruments OMAP chips, then it'll probably be more open.
But probably don't take what I say seriously.
eksasol said:
I'm not dev, but my guess is not entirely. Qualcomm is extremely protective of it's IP, which is why the Nexus 7 2013 source got pulled momentarily I think. This device run their SOC do I assume it'll use their drivers.
But as you can see there are a good number of roms for it already, so it's still a dev friendly device. They released their kernel source so it's useful for making AOSP roms and regular CM11, but certain features from CM11S is not available. CM isn't fully open source either from what I understand.
If the device was running pure AOSP with no Google services and using Texus Instruments OMAP chips, then it'll probably be more open.
But probably don't take what I say seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I appreciate your honesty lol you've given me some interesting things to research. In the future I may be avoiding Qualcomm devices, I'm sick of having to decide between stability and crappy ui and features, vs the awesome of cyanogenmod or other community Roms with unstable reverse engineered drivers.
Hardware manufacturers have got to quit messing with android so much, Samsung makes great hardware but pretty crappy software, I'm tired of having to choose.
My next phone will either be an OPP or a Nexus 5 I think. On that magical day that I have cash to blow....
eksasol said:
I'm not dev, but my guess is not entirely. Qualcomm is extremely protective of it's IP, which is why the Nexus 7 2013 source got pulled momentarily I think. This device run their SOC do I assume it'll use their drivers.
But as you can see there are a good number of roms for it already, so it's still a dev friendly device. They released their kernel source so it's useful for making AOSP roms and regular CM11, but certain features from CM11S is not available. CM isn't fully open source either from what I understand.
If the device was running pure AOSP with no Google services and using Texus Instruments OMAP chips, then it'll probably be more open.
But probably don't take what I say seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TI OMAP left the mobile market for SoC.
Well I appreciate your honesty lol you've given me some interesting things to research. In the future I may be avoiding Qualcomm devices, I'm sick of having to decide between stability and crappy ui and features, vs the awesome of cyanogenmod or other community Roms with unstable reverse engineered drivers.
Hardware manufacturers have got to quit messing with android so much, Samsung makes great hardware but pretty crappy software, I'm tired of having to choose.
My next phone will either be an OPP or a Nexus 5 I think. On that magical day that I have cash to blow....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't avoid Qualcomm, they pretty much own the market share when it comes to SoC. They're not bad people, their SoC are undoubtedly the best on the market. And there aren't many phones at all that offer other system on chips. The only others being NVIDIA Tegra but they're not really on phones anymore, Samsung Exynos is on international devices... if you buy a international Samsung Note/S5 then chances are it won't support U.S. LTE bands (unless you live outside of the U.S./NA).
At the end of the day, the factory images are there. And yes the N7 were pulled but its back and has been there for awhile.
The real difference is that aosp is built and tested on Nexus devices and CM uses aosp (google) to build there platform from.
So any other device is for lack of better words is a port from android nexus development aka android built for and test on nexus.
So in a way the one plus is just like any other non nexus device. You can't just repo sync a Google aosp repo and build for this phone. Without changes being made to make it work.
Not knocking the One it's a really nice piece of hardware.

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