Android is more and more remote from Linux, is Google's Android really open source?

Linux Introduction (Simple Introduction to Linux)

Linux is a generic term for UNIX computer operating systems. The kernel name of the Linux operating system is also "Linux". The Linux operating system is also the most famous example of free software and open source development. Strictly speaking, the word Linux itself only represents the Linux kernel, but in fact people have become accustomed to using Linux to describe the entire Linux kernel, and use the GNU engineering various tools and databases of the operating system.

March 1994, Linux1.0 released

The code volume of 170,000 lines, at that time was released in accordance with the completely free Free agreement, completely free free protocol represents the free, open, anyone can modify it, plus their own code, but this undoubtedly makes Linux difficult to commercial and not conducive to the spread (it is difficult to say, if not commercial drivers, Completely free-to-open may not have today's Linux. The GPL was then formally adopted. The GPL is a tough open source protocol that provides copyright protection to your software while it gives you the legal license to copy, distribute, and modify the software.

If you modify the code and apply for a patent, see: The publisher of free software obtains a patent license in its own name. In fact, the software becomes private. To prevent this, we must be clear: any patent must be allowed to be used freely by everyone, otherwise it will not be licensed.

Obviously, Android is a commercial application, such a deal is certainly not in the interest of Google, wait a moment I will explain how Google is against such an agreement.

January 1995, RedHat (Little Red Riding Hood) was born

In January 1995, Bob Young founded RedHat (Little Red Riding Hood), with Gnu/linux as the core, integrates more than 400 source code open program modules, RedHat Linux, called Linux "Distribution", sold on the market. In June 1996, the Linux 2.0 kernel, which has about 400,000 lines of code and can support multiple processors, has entered a practical phase, with around 3.5 million people worldwide.

November 16, 2003, Fedora Core (changed from seventh edition to Fedora) released

It is a set of free Linux systems developed from Red Hat Linux. The predecessor of Fedora Core is red Hat Linux. Fedora is an open, innovative, forward-looking operating system and platform based on Linux

August 13, 1993, Debian

Its goal is to provide a stable, fault-tolerant version of Linux. It is not a company that supports Debian, but many developers who have invested a lot of time in their improvement process, and this improvement draws on the experience of early Linux.

October 20, 2004 release of the first Debian-based development blueprint Ubuntu4.10

The goal of Ubuntu is to provide an up-to-date, yet fairly stable, operating system built primarily of free software for the average user. And a new version will be released in June every year.

At the beginning of 2014, CentOS announced the addition of Red Hat

CentOS is an enterprise-class Linux distribution based on Red Hat Linux that provides free access to source code. Each version of CentOS will receive a ten-year support. The new version of CentOS is released about once every two years, and each version of CentOS is updated periodically (approximately every six months) to support new hardware. This creates a secure, low-maintenance, stable, highly predictive, high-repeatability Linux environment.

So when we study, we generally use Ubuntu, and in the process of enterprise development generally use CentOS.

Only introduced some, if also want to understand the various versions of Linux, along the look, in the article can see I see on the internet a few pictures (summed up very perfect, all also want to share with you)

Is Google's Android "really" open source?

First we have to understand that Android is a commercial application of Google, so it must not fully comply with the above-mentioned GPL open-source protocol, otherwise people can do their own operating system, why use Android it?

First look at what the difference between Android and normal Linux is (see picture for details)

In essence, Android is still a Linux system, just outside a layer of virtual machines (Dalvik/art), and only the use of kernel (Linux kernel), but many people say that Linux is far from Android than the distance from iOS. Why is this?

Because Google has customized it, and we have to customize Linux to the embedded device on the same, but Google has made a lot of changes to it, and as a business behavior, which played a lot of tricks.

Avoiding the GPL, the first step in business behavior

A perfect business behavior, Google certainly does not want to go to open source. Linux kernel Copyright is the GPL, and a hardware manufacturer, want to run their own hardware on the Linux kernel, then there must be a corresponding driver, but if the corresponding driver code is published, it is equal to the hardware specifications are also public.

Google certainly does not want this, and this is only the first step, so there is a virtual machine outside, Google has adopted a number of methods to circumvent the problem. They moved the driver to "userspace", which was a small door on the Linux kernel, which turned out to be the Linux kernel and ran on the Linux kernel, successfully bypassing the GPL.

Now it seems that the hardware vendors have some benefits, so Google also brings benefits, but why is it true that open source? I continue to analyze.

"Open source" becomes "closed" Android
In the beginning, Android is really open source, but now you say that the closed source estimates are no one to oppose.

Many people say Android, "Google's own site, as closed as Microsoft's website." It is open source, all under the GPL license to open source. "

Lock OEM Manufacturer

By using the app's upgrade to close the source, Google's control on the mobile side stems mainly from app group--gmail, Maps, Google Now, Hangouts, YouTube and play Store, all of which are Android's killer apps, Many handset makers want to run on their own devices. The need to get Google's authorization, authorization, or the need to join Open handset Alliance (OHA) to get Google authorization to join means that the device will not be able to run other versions of the Android system.

Amazon as a heretic Android version, when it looked for its next manufacturer, it had to consciously bypass Acer, Asus, Dell, Foxconn, Fujitsu, HTC, Huawei, Kyocera, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, A long list of NEC, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and ZTE. Currently, Amazon has contracted the order of its Kindle device to Quanta Computer, a laptop manufacturer. This may be the helpless choice of Amazon.

Lock developer, convenient API

Simple is a few applications is certainly not enough to let those hardware manufacturers prostitution, then Google did what?

The Play service is a big tool for Google against derivative versions of Android, and Google is aggressively strengthening its reliance on third-party apps, and Google offers a number of APIs for developers to use to make software compatibility with developers more and more good. The days that are not being used are getting harder. The strategy is actually to "Android App Ecosystem" into "Google Play Ecosystem", Google for Android is also love and hate, Because Google wants everyone to rely on Google rather than Android, but it is still too strong Android, and there have been many interesting between Google and Android.

And as Google gets stronger, developers and users are increasingly struggling to get out of Google, and Android's open source is an open source of hope.

A point of view for Google

In fact, can not be ignorant of this practice, I still like Google, after all, it is a business behavior, but in the name of open source, to enjoy the welfare of the community, but did not contribute, someone criticized, and the Android code from the Linux community to remove, But others have affirmed its enthusiasm for the contribution it has made to the spread of Linux.

This is also small make oneself have some understanding, then collect the data to sort out a little thing, if everybody has any question or view, can propose, discuss, exchange together.

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Version of Linux

Android is more and more remote from Linux, is Google's Android really open source?