Android has caused one of the greatest revolutions of our time. Being present on smartphones, TV, tables, watches, embedded boards, it can be considered ubiquitous. Its open source nature gives companies, expert users, and hackers the opportunity to learn from, improve, and customize the system, creating a tailored version of the most popular mobile operating system.
This book is a journey from the origins of the Android project to what's in the future, walking through all the phases needed to build a custom Android system from source and from binary images.
Chapter 1, Understanding the Architecture, explains the Android hardware and software architecture, the Android Compatibility Definition Document, the Android Compatibility Test Suite, and the Android Runtime.
Chapter 2, Obtaining the Source Code – Structure and Philosophy, explains the Android Open Source Project.
Chapter 3, Set up and Build – the Emulator Way, teaches how to set up the build environment and build a system image for the Android Emulator.
Chapter 4, Moving to Real-World Hardware, tells you about how to build a real device and how to flash the system image.
Chapter 5, Customizing Kernel and Boot Sequence, dives into kernel and boot sequence customization, in order to tailor the perfect system.
Chapter 6, "Cooking" Your First ROM, discusses about custom recovery images, root privileges, and Android Kitchen.
Chapter 7, Tailoring Your Personal Android System, discusses hacking the Android framework, adding apps, and optimizing the system.
Chapter 8, Beyond the Smartphone, discusses what's next, what the Android possibilities are once you step away from the smartphone world.
More about Android N Programming: In this chapter, you will find some more information about Android N Programming at https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/MoreaboutAndroidNProgramming.pdf.