What is the minimum amount of RAM required to run Linux on Android? - General Questions and Answers

I wan't to buy a budget phone and have not any experience on installing Linux (distro) on android. Can you please tell me what is minimum amount of RAM required to run Linux (distro) on Android?

Related

WinMo modded like OSX Mobile??

Well this is my question. Windows Mobile can vary from 26mb to 80mb in a rom. But the iPhone operating system is 700mb.
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2007/07/13/iphone-os-x-architecture-the-mach-kernel-and-ram/
Could we develop a version of Windows Mobile, or even a small linux that could be installed on a SD card and utilize the phones memory as RAM? This would alot us more room software render better graphics and give us a much larger kernel that would also increase stability and speed.
With the current specs of a Kaiser, you might be able to use even something like Windows 98 in the background with a java GUI.
I'm just throwing out an idea, let me know what you think.

Best Computer OS for Android Development?

Hey guys, I'm new here and new to Android Development. I would like to try my hand at it. Can you guys suggest the best OS for Developing Android Apps.
Linux (Which Distro)
Windows
Thanks
Andrew
I to have been curious as to the best linux distro for android development. I'm not looking for afull blown linus os...more along the lines of dsl for android and app development. I have only dabbled with linux, mainly dsl and phlak livecds. I want something a little more capable then that.
avacomputers said:
Hey guys, I'm new here and new to Android Development. I would like to try my hand at it. Can you guys suggest the best OS for Developing Android Apps.
Linux (Which Distro)
Windows
Thanks
Andrew
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UBUNTU IS THE BEST OS because android is developed under linux with java base...
if you tray windoze you must to adjust a lot of thinks and make compatibilities... don´t complicate and try UBUNTU 10
An answer of one ubuntu lover!
sorry somtimes my english is poor
Linux is best os android development application. Android is an operating system based on Linux and a robot body or synthetic. It is open source as a Java library. It is a software stack for mobile devices because it includes an operating system and middleware, application key.
I think the best Linux for Developing Android is Ubuntu. There is a new version, 11.04. Try it
i know linux is the obvious choice for android development as it has the same base as android. i also understand ubuntu is the most popular of the linux brands, but i dont really need a full blown linux os. i curently use my mobile-ap for internet with about 2 bars if that...so internet speeds are slow. i dont want to spend alot of time and bandwidth downloading a linux os with features i will probably never use. or is there a light version of ubuntu with just a basic environment i need to develop for android?
as for my other computing needs, im still a windows fan!
Is Fedora on GNOME 3.0 a good platform for development?
yea i like linux mint its more user friendly than ubuntu
Since you might be using Eclipse as IDE, there shouldn't be too much difference using a windows or linux OS.
We're using windows and we're satisfied...
Just try different OSs. You'll notice windows is slow when compiling Java. Why is that - the OS, or the usual virus scanners sitting on it - don't know. I'm pulling my hair right know why my Macbook Pro on a 7000 rpm drive is much (3x) faster to compile than windows XP on a 10K rpm drive. My office buddy's telling me Linux is faster then windows.
Wow... some of the answers in this thread are just... wow...
Ok listen up people!
For just pure development it doesn't matter which OS you choose. You can code just as well in Linux, Windows or Mac since they all run the JDK, Eclipse and the Android SDK just as well. HOWEVER:
Linux has some advantages over the two:
1. The Android emulator will run better on certain versions of Linux depending on how they are set up. The AVD works by using an emulation technology called qemu which is now integrated in the Linux kernel giving it direct access to the processor thus improving the speed of the emulator significantly. Windows and MacOS don't have qemu integrated in their kernel as far as I know therefore the emulator works like S**t.
2. Linux distributions by default are optimised to work faster on hardware than Windows. Take note of the words "than Windows". MacOS is highly optimised to work as fast as possible on Macs therefore it can't really compete in this category. But for PC users, if you invest the time and effort to make your Linux machine tweaked accordingly to your hardware settings it will blow windows away when it comes to processing speed, therefore enhancing the quickness of your IDE as a result.
Now that we got that out of the way, I do have a warning: Linux Is Hard To Configure Properly! Unless you know exactly what you are doing you will brake it over and over and over again until you get it working. If you really must use Linux, here are the distributions I recommend for developing Android apps:
Linux Beginners: Ubuntu - any version above 10.04 I think. Take your pick at what works best for you
Linux Intermediate: Spend some time configuring a Slackware Machine with Eclipse + ADT + JDK + qemu. You won't be sorry.
Linux Advanced: Gentoo or Archbang depending on preferance
Linux Experts: The bloody hell are you doing on this thread?
taranasus said:
Wow... some of the answers in this thread are just... wow...
Ok listen up people!
For just pure development it doesn't matter which OS you choose. You can code just as well in Linux, Windows or Mac since they all run the JDK, Eclipse and the Android SDK just as well. HOWEVER:
Linux has some advantages over the two:
1. The Android emulator will run better on certain versions of Linux depending on how they are set up. The AVD works by using an emulation technology called qemu which is now integrated in the Linux kernel giving it direct access to the processor thus improving the speed of the emulator significantly. Windows and MacOS don't have qemu integrated in their kernel as far as I know therefore the emulator works like S**t.
2. Linux distributions by default are optimised to work faster on hardware than Windows. Take note of the words "than Windows". MacOS is highly optimised to work as fast as possible on Macs therefore it can't really compete in this category. But for PC users, if you invest the time and effort to make your Linux machine tweaked accordingly to your hardware settings it will blow windows away when it comes to processing speed, therefore enhancing the quickness of your IDE as a result.
Now that we got that out of the way, I do have a warning: Linux Is Hard To Configure Properly! Unless you know exactly what you are doing you will brake it over and over and over again until you get it working. If you really must use Linux, here are the distributions I recommend for developing Android apps:
Linux Beginners: Ubuntu - any version above 10.04 I think. Take your pick at what works best for you
Linux Intermediate: Spend some time configuring a Slackware Machine with Eclipse + ADT + JDK + qemu. You won't be sorry.
Linux Advanced: Gentoo or Archbang depending on preferance
Linux Experts: The bloody hell are you doing on this thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awe but Archbang is easy, how about pure Arch Linux ;D
is ubuntu still best OS to develop android apps?
how to take back up of only videos on my Android device?
taranasus said:
Wow... some of the answers in this thread are just... wow...
Ok listen up people!
For just pure development it doesn't matter which OS you choose. You can code just as well in Linux, Windows or Mac since they all run the JDK, Eclipse and the Android SDK just as well. HOWEVER:
Linux has some advantages over the two:
1. The Android emulator will run better on certain versions of Linux depending on how they are set up. The AVD works by using an emulation technology called qemu which is now integrated in the Linux kernel giving it direct access to the processor thus improving the speed of the emulator significantly. Windows and MacOS don't have qemu integrated in their kernel as far as I know therefore the emulator works like S**t.
2. Linux distributions by default are optimised to work faster on hardware than Windows. Take note of the words "than Windows". MacOS is highly optimised to work as fast as possible on Macs therefore it can't really compete in this category. But for PC users, if you invest the time and effort to make your Linux machine tweaked accordingly to your hardware settings it will blow windows away when it comes to processing speed, therefore enhancing the quickness of your IDE as a result.
Now that we got that out of the way, I do have a warning: Linux Is Hard To Configure Properly! Unless you know exactly what you are doing you will brake it over and over and over again until you get it working. If you really must use Linux, here are the distributions I recommend for developing Android apps:
Linux Beginners: Ubuntu - any version above 10.04 I think. Take your pick at what works best for you
Linux Intermediate: Spend some time configuring a Slackware Machine with Eclipse + ADT + JDK + qemu. You won't be sorry.
Linux Advanced: Gentoo or Archbang depending on preferance
Linux Experts: The bloody hell are you doing on this thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you guide me how to take back up of only videos on my Android device
using own made program or application software.
Means from where to begin ?
What to cover first ?
File system of Android ?
Or direct using system calls I can copy videos directly ?
regards
matt
You suggested its worth time & effort to properly setup Slackware it would be worth our while. Ok found u page2. Let's see is the needed software list still valid 2015?
Where can I go for support setting up Slackware for android development.
Plus FYI can't watch tutorial video be.cause Flash no longer supports Linux.
I have UBUNTU 16.04.
I've noticed a lot of people saying to use Ubuntu 10. is that because the post is old or is the 10th generation Ubuntu the best for android development. i also am a noob. i can root, i have successfully flashed a lg stylo once with katana rom. i still use it to this day,,,,, bc my gf "accidentally" broke my 500gig hdd that i was booting windows ten from via usb on my dell inspiron. i was using mainly odin and lg flash tool which i rem was hard to get up and running on Ubuntu which if i rem correctly is why i went to windows when i am flashing. Any suggestions or refferences would help greatly. i fig if im starting over id better do it the correct way. My end goal is to try my hand at learning android development. Ty LOVE THE SITE

Android Dev: Linux vs. Mac vs. Windows

Experts, Developers, Fellow Gentlemen (& perhaps, some Lassey?),
PURPOSE:
To request, collect, organize, and clearly present 3 types of information related to BOTH android application development (for sale on the market) and ROM cooking (using scripts, kitchens, etc.).
INFO REQUESTED:
(1) Compare the relative the PROs and CONs of Android Dev. using:
Windows with Cygwin and Eclipse
Windows with a Linux VM (Eclipse installed on the VM)
Mac with Eclipse
Mac with a Linux VM (Eclipse installed on the VM)
Linux on bare metal (using Eclipse, of course, or the NDK)
(2) If you have used two or more of the above for Android Dev., please describe your experiences and insights, the primary differences, similarities, tips and pitfalls, etc.
(3) Given a fairly large budget to buy your own laptop for use in Android application development and ROM cooking, please RANK the above 5 choices in order from your 1st (best and most desirable) choice to your 5th (last and least desirable) configuration.
Best Regards,
Paul
Honestly your best bet if you want to do android ROM development, and not developing apks, then your best bet is to dual boot your laptop with widows and ubuntu. I thouhgt that you were wanting to develop apks, since you mentioned the SDK and eclipse, that is really more for app development, rather than ROMS and android open source it self.
The reason for ubuntu is that all the of utilities all work with ubuntu, they can work with other distros, but ubuntu seems to be the one most flock to.
The reason not to use a VM is because it can have issues connecting to the USB connection with your phone attached.
Mac will work, if you really want to go down that path, but it is more cumbersome to get things to work "well" as BSD is the underlying kernel, but you have to install an Xwindows environment to use most of the Android utilities, and that can be a pain to get working for someone not really experienced with linux AND OS X.
Windows with cygwin is a possibility, but again, more of a pain that just dual booting ubuntu.
+1 for dualboot
I'm definitely not a developer but I do know PC's. Jim's right you won't get any odd b.s. if you partition and install Ubuntu.
For the small amount of rom tweaking/developing I have done I use windows with cygwin. With baksmali and smali for decompiling dex files.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Me too. I get by with Windows7 and Cygwin...
I know that I will eventually have to at least set up dual-boot with Ubuntu if I want to get involved in "real" development (even that would freak out my wife though - having options at boot on our shared family computer... gonna need a separate dev machine I guess)
Sent from my mind using XDA
I have worked through both windows and linux (ubuntu mostly), and I can give you some info about macs too, but I don't have actual experience there.
Windows
Pros:
More software for things other than android development, so if you want just one OS it may be the way to go.
If you are familiar with it already, it will make your life easier as you won't have to learn about a new OS.
Not much more really.
Cons:
most developers use linux, so you will be a bit alone i the android dev world meaning possible less support.
Not as well supported officially or not.
Overall:
Windows will probably be just fine for app development, as the sdk and eclipse both run fine.
You will have trouble with rom development. Android is based on the linux kernel, so it does not play well with windows.
You can use Cygwin, but you will have mixed results. It is not perfect. Some things just won't work unless you have linux, and quite honestly it is probably easier to get ubuntu working right.
Ubuntu
Pros:
It's FREE!!!!!
most official support
It's what most devs use, so unofficial support is good
Most utilities are built for it.
Cons:
Can be tough to learn if you are used to windows
not as many apps for other things, but that is getting better.
Over all:
By far the best for development. you are just gonna be better off in general. your best bet is to dual boot, which is really easy, and you can always use windows when you want. A virtual machine is an option, but you will have issues with certain things, like usb support. A VM will also require more cpu power to do everything so it is not a good idea on low power machines.
Hardware
Linux is much lighter than windows, so a low power computer will be better off with it.
You should be fine with anything that is not total crap for app development. Basic rom development should be fine in the mid to low end. If you are getting into more serious stuff like building up android source you will want some serious power. I have 4GB or ram and an intel i3 processor (2.13 gHZ dual core 4 thread) and that barely cuts it. compiling cm7 takes a couple hours and it runs at 100% cpu usage the whole time and gets hotter than hell.
You will need a pretty big hard drive for some stuff. The AOSP source is huge. all my android stuff takes about 28GB.
Over all
your best bet is to dual boot windows and Ubuntu Linux on at least a decent PC. you will be happier with something with a slightly higher end CPU.
I use 64-bit Ubuntu, it's just so much better and everything just runs natively! I mean some of those kitchens and tools are only for windows, but it doesn't really bother me because I dont use them
If you want to learn to write code, get ubuntu and jump head first into it.

[Q] Android 4.4 KitKat minimum requirements

I was just wondering what exactly were 4.4's minimum system requirements. Is it possible that a device with 512MB RAM can really run it or is it just a gimmick?
Ya hope so!!!!
Sent from my GT-S7562 using xda app-developers app
adarshsosale said:
I was just wondering what exactly were 4.4's minimum system requirements. Is it possible that a device with 512MB RAM can really run it or is it just a gimmick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure that a lot of that technical data is released yet. If you are referring to older, legacy devices, then it's likely not possible to get those running KitKat, simply because the various drivers and hardware need to be compatible with one another. This was a major issue with older devices trying to run ICS, which needed hacks to run properly.
Yes Android 4.4 was developed to support low-end devices.
look at:
hxxp://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/android-44-kitkat-supports-devices-running-just-512mb-of-ram-440357
Well, if you look after Nexus S' forums, you'll see a lot of people working to port the Nexus 5's ROM or even compiling the KitKat sources to their devices. So, yes, it is possible using 512mb of RAM. The problems, instead, are all related to drivers' compatibilities.
i heard that its going to be supported for lower end devices, such as your 512mb of RAM
Android 4.4 is designed to run fast, smooth, and responsively on a much broader range of devices than ever before — including on millions of entry-level devices around the world that have as little as 512MB RAM.
KitKat streamlines every major component to reduce memory use and introduces new APIs and tools to help you create innovative, responsive, memory-efficient applications.
OEMs building the next generation of Android devices can take advantage of targeted recommendations and options to run Android 4.4 efficiently, even on low-memory devices. Dalvik JIT code cache tuning, kernel samepage merging (KSM), swap to zRAM, and other optimizations help manage memory. New configuration options let OEMs tune out-of-memory levels for processes, set graphics cache sizes, control memory reclaim, and more.
In Android itself, changes across the system improve memory management and reduce memory footprint. Core system processes are trimmed to use less heap, and they now more aggressively protect system memory from apps consuming large amounts of RAM. When multiple services start at once — such as when network connectivity changes — Android now launches the services serially, in small groups, to avoid peak memory demands.
This thread may be old. But yes you can run KitKat on 512 MB RAM devices. I'm running KitKat on such a device. But I have to mention that it's also possible to run Android versions lower than 4.4 on low ram devices.

[Q] Native Linux on phones

What phones can boot into and run a desktop ARM Linux distro (such as Arch, Slackware, Ubuntu or Debian) natively, with call and messaging support?
Ubuntu Edge.
linuxphone said:
What phones can boot into and run a desktop ARM Linux distro (such as Arch, Slackware, Ubuntu or Debian)
natively, with call and messaging support?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The closet you can get is with Ubuntu Edge but it is still under development and will not be available for a some time.
I am sorry I can not post the links yet in the post but you can google for the "Ubuntu Edge" and you will get enough reading material about the project.
There are also some solutions with VNC and a VM in which you run a desktop Linux. Might not be what you want, but you would have a Linux running on your phone.
The main problem is going to be drivers, which is why a ARM Linux can't just be booted. Someone would need to be merging device specific drivers into the linux, test it, debug it and so on, which doesn't make sense if there are so few people really wanting it. And as you can see with Ubuntus try on that: It is a lot of development needed.
It's possible to dual boot Maemo (to use it for phone features) and Ubuntu (desktop) on Nokia N900.
It's also possible to dual boot Windows Mobile (for phone features) and Ubuntu (desktop) on HTC HD2.
On the other hand, these Indian tablets boot and run Linux:
w w w .youtube.com/watch?v=n1tC8uSR0og
And have phone features:
w w w .techulator.com/resources/9492-Datawind-UbiSlate-7C-Edge-tablet-Full-specifications-features-online.aspx
If anyone tested Linux with phone calls on those devices, please tell.
A long time ago I installed Gentoo Linux on an ARM based hx4700 iPaq; it worked but ran so slowly it wasn't much use. The specialised Linux distros Familiar and Angstrom ran much better, as they were specifically designed for handheld devices. Granted phone specs are way improved now, but is there any real advantage running a full-blown Linux on a phone.... surely Android is basically a Linux distro optimised for phone specs (and chargeable apps, etc...). Would it be less work to port apps you need to run on Android instead - if that's your aim? Although it may be worth doing just for the sake of it....
Full-blown Linux offers the advantage of being in control of the operating system. You choose the tools you need. Android is less secure (backdoors, apps reading your data) and mobile apps generally feel like crippled desktop apps. For example, apt-get is much more comfortable to use, you just type the packages you need and it downloads them, no need for searching inside categories of app market (and all of them are free with full functionality with no ads). You can use the same scripts you wrote for your PC. It can be tweaked to run really fast (low resource usage apps written in C vs Android's Java), and you choose your desktop environment (e. g. a tiling window manager with the right apps literally flies on an old machine, RAM used on system start with Xorg running equals 20 MBs). Also, there's full filesystem encryption.
Mobile hardware is more or less the equivalent of a Pentium 2 / 3 / 4 desktop PC, which is enough for full desktop app experience.
Im glad i found this topic.
Thats not new to me...
I think the questions to add are:
- How to fully remove Android to Install Linux
- Can i install all the Drivers needed?
So that i can use: Modem(phone); WiFi & GPS under Linux.
-Is it possible to revert to Android?
- Minimum Requirements to Run Linux and What Distro?
Sent from my GT-I9003 using XDA Free mobile app

Categories

Resources