Open source developer and Linux enthusiast here. Although cluttered, Android’s home directory is fairly simple to understand
The nightmare begins when you take a look at the root filesystem.
One time I was trying to port an OS to my phone and I had to figure out the Android init system. Went to source.android.com and what. the. fuck. Just as a side-by-side comparison:
Linux boot sequence:
Android boot sequence (unmodded, SIMPLE):
There are so many wrong things about it like why are there 11, 12 places to put programs (/system/bin, /bin, /usr/bin /system/usr/bin, /sbin, /system/usr/share/bin…)
Why the fuck drivers are scattered around folders instead of just /lib/modules
Why is the home directory /storage/emulated/0/ instead of just /home/0/ (also why the user is named “0”)
Where the fuck is everything???
God (Linus Torvalds) forgive me but even Windows is better than that shit
i wonder if that graphic is up to date with system as root and A/B dynamic partitioning and whatever crazy new bullshit google invents with every release
Phones launching with Android 13 without a dedicated partition for recovery mode
Phones launching with Android 13 with two dedicated partitions for recovery mode (two because of A/B partitioning scheme)
Phones launching with Android 13 with one dedicated partition for recovery mode (only one because A/B partitioning scheme is not used)
Phones that launch with or upgrade to Android 12, that use a generic kernel image, without a dedicated partition for recovery mode
Phones that launch with or upgrade to Android 12, that use a generic kernel image, with two dedicated partitions for recovery mode (A/B partitioning scheme)
Phones that launch with or upgrade to Android 12, that use a generic kernel image, with one dedicated partition for recovery mode (non-A/B partitioning scheme)
Phones that upgrade to Android 12, that does not use a generic kernel image, with no dedicated partition for recovery mode
Phones that upgrade to Android 12, that does not use a generic kernel image, with dedicated partition(s) for recovery mode
In Android’s defense however, a phone would likely use only one of these layouts at a time. The question of which of these layouts does a said phone uses though, that’s a more complicated question.
Open source developer and Linux enthusiast here. Although cluttered, Android’s home directory is fairly simple to understand
The nightmare begins when you take a look at the root filesystem.
One time I was trying to port an OS to my phone and I had to figure out the Android init system. Went to source.android.com and what. the. fuck. Just as a side-by-side comparison:
Linux boot sequence:
Android boot sequence (unmodded, SIMPLE):
There are so many wrong things about it like why are there 11, 12 places to put programs (/system/bin, /bin, /usr/bin /system/usr/bin, /sbin, /system/usr/share/bin…)
Why the fuck drivers are scattered around folders instead of just /lib/modules
Why is the home directory /storage/emulated/0/ instead of just /home/0/ (also why the user is named “0”)
Where the fuck is everything???
God (Linus Torvalds) forgive me but even Windows is better than that shit
i wonder if that graphic is up to date with system as root and A/B dynamic partitioning and whatever crazy new bullshit google invents with every release
I raise you all of these monstrosities:
In Android’s defense however, a phone would likely use only one of these layouts at a time. The question of which of these layouts does a said phone uses though, that’s a more complicated question.
That’s not correct though. The GNU+Linux version is missing the bootloader and initramfs.
The Linux boot sequence link doesn’t work for me
Init
^
|
Linux Kernel
It’s a graph, showing a red oval with the text “Linux Kernel”, an arrow points from the red oval to a light-green oval titled “Init”.
“Linux Kernel” --→ “Init”
Thanks