Navigation

    UBports Robot Logo

    UBports Forum

    • Register
    • Login
    • Search
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Groups
    • Search

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

    General
    7
    13
    572
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • D
      doniks last edited by

      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 C AppLee dobey 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • CiberSheep
        CiberSheep @doniks last edited by

        @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 🙂

        Another planet, another time, another universe!

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
        • C
          cliffcoggin @doniks last edited by

          @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"?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • AppLee
            AppLee @doniks last edited by

            @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 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Keneda
              Keneda @AppLee last edited by

              @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.

              2015-Now : Meizu MX4 (Stable) for daily use
              Spare : Nexus 5 (Stable)

              AppLee 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • AppLee
                AppLee @Keneda last edited by

                @keneda Nexus 5 too IIRC

                Keneda 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Keneda
                  Keneda @AppLee last edited by

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

                  2015-Now : Meizu MX4 (Stable) for daily use
                  Spare : Nexus 5 (Stable)

                  arubislander dobey 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • arubislander
                    arubislander @Keneda last edited by

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

                    🇦🇼 🇳🇱 🇺🇸 🇪🇸
                    Happily running Ubuntu Touch
                    BQ Aquaris M10 FHD (16.04 RC)
                    Google Pixel 3a (20.04 DEV)
                    JingPad (16.04 DEV)
                    Meizu Pro 5 (16.04 DEV)
                    PinePhone / PineTab UT CE (16.04 DEV)

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • arubislander
                      arubislander @Keneda last edited by

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

                      🇦🇼 🇳🇱 🇺🇸 🇪🇸
                      Happily running Ubuntu Touch
                      BQ Aquaris M10 FHD (16.04 RC)
                      Google Pixel 3a (20.04 DEV)
                      JingPad (16.04 DEV)
                      Meizu Pro 5 (16.04 DEV)
                      PinePhone / PineTab UT CE (16.04 DEV)

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • dobey
                        dobey @Keneda last edited by

                        @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.

                        Keneda 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • dobey
                          dobey @doniks last edited by

                          @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.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Keneda
                            Keneda @dobey last edited by

                            @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/

                            2015-Now : Meizu MX4 (Stable) for daily use
                            Spare : Nexus 5 (Stable)

                            dobey 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • dobey
                              dobey @Keneda last edited by

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

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • First post
                                Last post