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Embedded Android: Porting, Extending, and Customizing 1st Edition

4.3 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

Looking to port Android to other platforms such as embedded devices? This hands-on book shows you how Android works and how you can adapt it to fit your needs. You’ll delve into Android’s architecture and learn how to navigate its source code, modify its various components, and create your own version of Android for your particular device. You’ll also discover how Android differs from its Linux roots.

If you’re experienced with embedded systems development and have a good handle on Linux, this book helps you mold Android to hardware platforms other than mobile devices.

  • Learn about Android’s development model and the hardware you need to run it
  • Get a quick primer on Android internals, including the Linux kernel and Dalvik virtual machine
  • Set up and explore the AOSP without hardware, using a functional emulator image
  • Understand Android’s non-recursive build system, and learn how to make your own modifications
  • Use evaluation boards to prototype your embedded Android system
  • Examine the native user-space, including the root filesystem layout, the adb tool, and Android’s command line
  • Discover how to interact with―and customize―the Android Framework


From the brand

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Porting, Extending, and Customizing

About the Author

Karim J. Yaghmour is part serial entrepreneur part unrepentant geek. He is the CEO of Opersys Inc., a company providing development and training services on Embedded Android and Embedded Linux, and is most widely known for having authored O'Reilly's Building Embedded Linux Systems ― which sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide and has been translated into several different languages.

Karim pioneered the world of Linux tracing by introducing the Linux Trace Toolkit (LTT) in the late '90s. He continued maintaining LTT through 2005 and was joined in this effort by developers from several companies, including IBM, HP, and Intel. LTT users have included: Google, IBM, HP, Oracle, Alcatel, Nortel, Ericsson, Qualcomm, NASA, Boeing, Airbus, Sony, Samsung, NEC, Fujitsu, SGI, RedHat, Thales, Oerlikon, Bull, Motorola, ARM, ST Micro. Other contributions include relayfs and Adeos.

Karim has presented and published as part of a number of peer-reviewed scientific and industry conferences, magazines and online publications, including Usenix, the Linux Kernel Summit, the Embedded Linux Conference, the Android Builders Summit, AnDevCon, the Embedded Systems Conference, the Ottawa Linux Symposium, LinuxJournal, the O'Reilly Network and the Real-Time Linux Workshop.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (April 30, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 410 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1449308295
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1449308292
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.55 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.84 x 9.19 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
74 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book readable and well-written, with valuable information and good references throughout. They appreciate the detailed coverage of build systems, with one customer specifically noting the excellent discussion on setup and build processes.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

9 customers mention "Readability"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a must-read.

"...This is a must read for anyone who needs to do Android system work for custom devices or who just wants to better understand the underlying..." Read more

"Pretty much THE book on porting android to a given hardware. Book was good enough that I took a week long class with the author to further my..." Read more

"...It's the best book out there on this topic. I highly recommend it." Read more

"Very good book, full of info and tips still applicable in Marshmallow" Read more

8 customers mention "Information quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides valuable information and serves as a good reference, with one customer noting it helps tremendously in understanding how embedded Android works.

"...I found it to be well organized, up to date, and highly informative in an area where reading the source code is typically your only option." Read more

"...This book helped me in leaps and bounds will continue to be a very important reference." Read more

"For good reference." Read more

"This book helps me tremendously in understanding how embedded Android works. It's the best book out there on this topic. I highly recommend it." Read more

3 customers mention "Build systems"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of build systems, with one customer noting its in-depth explanation and another highlighting its excellent discussion on setup and build processes.

"...It goes more in-depth with the build systems and customizing Android. It has a bit of system coverage of the internals of the Android system...." Read more

"First of the kind. A clear overview is extreme important for developers who has just started their works since Android Framework has changed so..." Read more

"Excellent discussion on how to setup/build/customize the android system. There is little documentation for this anywhere else that I could find...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book.

"...It was well written and informative and digs into the internals of the AOSP...." Read more

"This book is super well-written. Makes reading about hardware internals a joy. Thanks. I look forward to the next edition, which I hear is out soon." Read more

"Thoroughly written book" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
    Absolutely wonderful for not only customizing your android installation but it takes you through a well laid out overview of the Android system. It goes more in-depth with the build systems and customizing Android. It has a bit of system coverage of the internals of the Android system. I wish it covered building your own Androidized Kernel. More for the system developer not the app developer.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2013
    This is one of the rare books that digs into the internals of Android. It was well written and informative and digs into the internals of the AOSP. This isn't a book that caters to app developers as you can see from the title.

    I found it to be well organized, up to date, and highly informative in an area where reading the source code is typically your only option.
    11 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2014
    And it has been way too long in coming. For decades I have done low level development on systems ranging from mainframes and supercomputers and vast distributed telecommunications systems to tiny microcontrollers and everything in between. I'm the kind of software developer that owns (and needs) two logic analyzers and an oscilloscope. When I started doing Android platform work -- that stuff that is in C and C++ and even snippets of assembler and requires that you know the nitty gritty details of how the platform works under the hood -- I found little in the way of either books or online documentation that was helpful. Yaghmour's book is the one reference that actually speaks to me in the language and terminology that I use day to day and addresses the kinds of concerns that I have. If you are the "systems guy", or even if you're an application developer that just wants to know more about what goes on when you leave the Java world, I would recommend this book.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017
    This book is super well-written. Makes reading about hardware internals a joy. Thanks. I look forward to the next edition, which I hear is out soon.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2014
    Karim is an expert on Linux and Android and usually the information presented in his books is fairly thorough. The only thing with this book is that he does not give more insight into actually creating an Embedded Android device with different hardware etc., Most of the contacts in this book talk about how Android at the embedded level is developed currently with the current Android phone devices.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2013
    This book provides a great look at how Android works, where to get the source, how to tweek it, and anything else you could want to know in order to understand Android at a deeper level. This is a must read for anyone who needs to do Android system work for custom devices or who just wants to better understand the underlying technologies.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2014
    Excellent coverage and insight into the internals of the world Android and OS. This book helped me in leaps and bounds will continue to be a very important reference.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
    One of my clients asked me if I had read this book. So I showed him my copy. His comment was telling: "if only we had read this before starting this project." I smiled.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • sirloins
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for anyone looking to compile/modify AOSP or android ...
    Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016
    Great read for anyone looking to compile/modify AOSP or android for a new or existing platform. It is a bit dated now as Android changes so quickly. I am looking forward to the updated version later this year or next year.
  • ricardo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Brazil on October 11, 2014
    Amazing book, still useful now a days, even though new Android versions were released, the core still the same, really helpful.
  • AchalmGucker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lange gesucht, endich gefunden!
    Reviewed in Germany on October 20, 2015
    Lange habe ich nach einem Buch gesucht, das Einblick in den Aufbau von Android und dessen Build-Umgebung gibt. Das Buch von Yaghmour erfüllt genau dieses. Es ist mittlerweile zwar ein bisschen in die Jahre gekommen (umfasst bis Android 4.1), leistet aber dennoch exzellente Dienste, um sich in die Materie einzuarbeiten.
    Report
  • rusodavid
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
    Reviewed in Spain on November 5, 2015
    Muy bueno. Con explicaciones muy sencillas y abarcando todos los aspectos necesarios para comprender el funcionamiento del "kernel" de Android.
  • R. Rose
    5.0 out of 5 stars How to build Android for a device - AKA custom roms.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2015
    If you want to know how to build a custom rom for Android, this is the book to get. I have looked for a book like this for ages and then came across a thread on stackoverflow discussing how to get a deeper understanding of the Android framework. I understand an update is coming in 2016, all credit to the author, as that has to be a huge research task. I would also recommend googling Karim as he does a lot of talks on building Android and how it works under the hood.