Unique secrets of meego In the open-source Linux mobile market

The 2011 open source China Open Source World Summit Forum just concluded in Beijing, and the industry's interest in open source remains high. Looking back at this open source conference, it is not difficult to find everyone interested in the meego system. Currently, mobile development platforms based on Linux operating systems include meego, Android, and WebOS, which are all well-known in the industry.

Professor Lu shouqun, chairman of the China Open Source Software Promotion Alliance

It is also an open-source operating system. What are the essential differences between meego and Android, apart from the differences between the market voice and the open-source mode? We have the honor to interview Professor Lu shouqun, chairman of the China Open Source Software Promotion Alliance, on the it168 mobile channel. From his understanding and understanding of open source software, we gradually learned that meego is different from Android.

We know that what meego and Android have in common is that they are both open-source and all adopt the Linux kernel. According to President Lu, the differences between meego and Android are divided into three parts: the first is the difference between the kernel layer, the second is the difference between middleware, and the third is the difference between the upper-layer UI and the application layer.

First, differences in the kernel layer

During the development of the Linux kernel, there are 2 ~ After three kernel upgrades, the android kernel is changed based on a Linux kernel version. Therefore, the android kernel is an unofficial dedicated kernel. The meego system kernel is the real Linux kernel and is the official general kernel.

The development mode of Linux kernel is to put the driver in the kernel, while Google thinks that some drivers are inconvenient to be repaired in the kernel, so some driver modules are put out of the kernel. At the same time, Google believes that some functional modules of the Linux kernel need to be redefined, set standards, and re-developed.

In the past, the Linux kernel was specially designed for PCs and won't be especially concerned about device usage and standby time. The Android system was designed for smartphones since its birth, therefore, there is a high requirement on the use and standby time of the device. According to the general process of Linux kernel modification, if developers need to change things in the kernel, they must negotiate with the foundation and pass the test approval before they can be added. While Google was developing Android, it made changes to the protocols and standards of some modules in the Linux kernel. From the perspective of the system, Android cannot leave the support of the Linux kernel. After the kernel is modified, the Linux Foundation staff responsible for Kernel maintenance clears the android kernel from the Linux kernel, in addition, this caused a sensation in the IT industry at that time, and many well-known IT media in China have reported that the Linux Foundation has fired android.

Coincidentally, at that time, we were catching up with the fifth open-source conference, and the Linux Foundation and Google's technical experts in charge of Android attended the Conference. At the Conference, we questioned both parties, according to their discussions, after intense discussions and negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on mutual compromise. Android did not completely modify the kernel as required by the Foundation, and did not develop the kernel according to your previous plan. Later, the Linux Foundation agreed to release the android kernel back to the Linux kernel system.

Meego is a system jointly launched by Intel and Nokia. After Nokia announced its withdrawal, it caused an uproar in the industry. Everyone expressed concern about the future of meego. After the cooperation broke down, the industry found that the meego project was still progressing smoothly, and the reason was that at the beginning of the project, in order to avoid possible disputes over meego control, meego was cleverly handed over to the Linux foundation for development and maintenance.

The second difference: Different middleware Layers

The middleware layer of the operating system includes two aspects: first, from the development perspective, the development environment should provide various development tools. Second, from the user's perspective, the developed application architecture is different, including various functional modules.

From the perspective of the development environment, meego uses Qt as the development environment and uses the open-source lgpl protocol of QT, which is relatively simple and does not infringe on the hidden patents. The android development environment is composed of many open-source products. There are no less than dozens of open-source protocols, and such a hybrid development environment will inevitably bring potential patent disputes to developers. Some recent lawsuits against mobile phone manufacturers on the Android platform show that the Android platform itself may violate the implicit patent right. According to Professor Lu shouqun, there are about 185 software components in the Android system and 19 open-source license protocols, laying the groundwork for the violation of Android patents.

In particular, Microsoft recently paid the HTC patent fee, and each mobile phone was handed over to Microsoft for $5. At the same time, Microsoft and Samsung also had a patent dispute. After Samsung negotiated, each mobile phone paid $10 to Microsoft.

All meego uses the standard Linux kernel. There will be no implicit patents in the system. Once Microsoft and meego have disputes over patents, the Linux community will also adopt countermeasures.

Professor Lu gave a special example: Microsoft and Novell had previously cooperated in office, so Microsoft declared that the Linux and Open Source circles seriously violated Microsoft's patent rights, but Microsoft did not charge Novell the copyright fee. To cope with charges from Microsoft to other partners in other open-source communities, GPL legal experts pointed out that if Microsoft does not charge copyright fees for one of the open-source manufacturers, it cannot charge other similar manufacturers; if Microsoft waved a patent lawsuit against Linux, Linux would be able to counter it.

Third difference: different user experience Layers

Meego and Android design user interfaces, develop various applications, and experience different mobile terminals. Meego grants full authorization to various mobile device manufacturers for the development of user experience, user interfaces, and various applications; android has tried to implement unified development for user experience, user interfaces, and various applications in the high-end mobile field. For example, Android has tried to unify the UI in android3.0, however, due to the pressure of various terminal manufacturers, this solution has not been implemented.

The interview gave you a technical understanding of meego's architectural characteristics, and further understood why meego is favored by the industry and open-source communities. Our it168 mobile channel is also looking forward to meego's new devices, hoping to see how these features are embodied in actual functions.

Address: http://tech.it168.com/a2011/0714/1218/000001218290.shtml