Intuitive and correct names for "Linux ports" and "Android ports"

doniks

We have these two groups of devices:

The first group has some Android parts inside. Those are the One Plus something, BQ, Meizu, Nexus thisorthat, Samsung, etc.

The second group has no Android parts inside. Those are the Pine phone, Pine tab. And I think there is some Raspberry Pi build around. Any 'desktop build'.

In many cases this distinction doesn't matter, and people can happily say "Ubuntu Touch" device and be ignorant of those details. But sometimes it does matter. While working on the docs this topic comes up regularly how to name these two groups. E.g. kernel compilation, porting, or for some corner cases where some commandlines are different

I struggle to find short names, easy to remember, reasonably intuitive and correct and just.

My first idea would be "Linux based" and "Android based". I personally find it intuitive enough, but of course it is not correct. Android itself is Linux based.

Another idea would be "Android based" and "Non-Android based". I don't think this does justice. In my view the Android (Halium) based architecture is an ugly hack. An amazingly clever hack, but still a hack. A workaround needed because of the maintenance horror caused by Android manufacturers creating a million forks of Linux. With the emergency of Pine phone, we're finally seeing the light at the end of this particular tunnel and can have "real Linux phones". It would be so unfair to stain these heroic game changers with a name like "Non-Android". As if that was something that they lack and not something that they were liberated from.

I think that's actually where my struggle comes from. These "pure Linux ports" have no specific attribute that's worth using as their name. They are just the "normal", "regular", "what you would expect", "default", "Phones", "Devices" running Ubuntu Touch. They are devoid of any extra stuff glued into them. I don't want to name them based on which ugly hack they don't need.

Curious to hear suggestions, because I'm stuck.

CiberSheep

@doniks This is interesting.

I think that making an «Android-centric» name is not good. As I believe, new comers are looking for an Android roms and not Android kernel based.

Devices that use «mainline kernel» vs «Hallium based» devices is better for me

cliffcoggin

@doniks said in Intuitive and correct names for "Linux ports" and "Android ports":
It would be so unfair to stain these heroic game changers with a name like "Non-Android". As if that was something that they lack and not something that they were liberated from.

Picking up on the liberation idea, what about "Android-free" instead of "Non-Android"?

AppLee

@doniks
Interesting topic indeed.

If I understand correctly even Halium is not correct as some ports called Legacy (I guess) are not based on it.
But if I'm still correct, both are based on Hybris so I would call them :
"Hybris based" ports or devices and "Mainlined" ports or devices.

In the "Hybris based" I'd say there are "Halium based" ports and "Legacy" ports.
IIRC legacy because they are inheritance from Canonical, right ?!

Keneda

@applee said in Intuitive and correct names for "Linux ports" and "Android ports":

IIRC legacy because they are inheritance from Canonical, right ?!

Yes, and those are the BQ and Meizu devices.

AppLee

@keneda Nexus 5 too IIRC

Keneda

@applee Isn't N5 the first port from UBports?

arubislander

I don't think "legacy" is totally equivalent to 'inherited from Canonical'. Rather it denotes non-Halium ports.

arubislander

@keneda I am pretty sure there was a port for the Nexus 5 since the Canonical days

dobey

@keneda No. Fairphone 2 or OnePlus 1 I think. N5 existed back then, but I don't think it was under the scope of UBports really. Someone else just did a port.

dobey

@doniks said in Intuitive and correct names for "Linux ports" and "Android ports":

My first idea would be "Linux based" and "Android based". I personally find it intuitive enough, but of course it is not correct. Android itself is Linux based.

Both are still Linux. The proper distinction here is "upstream" versus "Android" version of kernel. Though, technically speaking, the PinePhone, PineTab, and RPi do not use mainline kernel, as it's not built from upstream git, but instead use specific kernel versions and configs, which may also have patches not yet accepted upstream.

Keneda

@dobey
Yes i searched the net and found something on XDA back in 2014 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/port-ubuntu-touch-for-nexus-5.2594874/

dobey

@keneda Not sure if that's the same person, but the port I remember using was maintained by tassadar (the MultiROM author).