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Licensing: From Left To Right: HTC Dream (G1), Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus

The source code for the Android operating system is available under open source licenses, with most code released under the Apache License and Linux kernel changes under the GPL. The Open Handset Alliance develops kernel changes publicly, while Google develops the rest of Android privately and releases the source code when a new version launches. However, Android devices typically include proprietary apps and software from Google like the Play Store. Forks of Android that make major changes are incompatible with apps requiring Google's proprietary components. Manufacturers can also replace stock apps and add additional non-open source software.

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39 views1 page

Licensing: From Left To Right: HTC Dream (G1), Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus

The source code for the Android operating system is available under open source licenses, with most code released under the Apache License and Linux kernel changes under the GPL. The Open Handset Alliance develops kernel changes publicly, while Google develops the rest of Android privately and releases the source code when a new version launches. However, Android devices typically include proprietary apps and software from Google like the Play Store. Forks of Android that make major changes are incompatible with apps requiring Google's proprietary components. Manufacturers can also replace stock apps and add additional non-open source software.

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Dissasekara
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© © All Rights Reserved
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3/23/2014

Android (operating system) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Licensing
The source code for Android is available under free and open-source software licenses. Google publishes most of the code (including network and telephony stacks)[160] under the non-copyleft Apache License version 2.0,[12][161][162] and the rest, Linux kernel changes, under the GNU General Public License version 2. The Open Handset Alliance develops the changes to the Linux kernel, in public, with source code publicly available at all times. The rest of Android is developed in private by Google, with source code From left to right: HTC Dream released publicly when a new version is released. Typically Google (G1), Nexus One, Nexus S, collaborates with a hardware manufacturer to produce a "flagship" device Galaxy Nexus (part of the Nexus series) featuring the new version of Android, then makes the source code available after that device has been released.[163] The only Android release which was not immediately made available as source code was the tablet-only 3.0 Honeycomb release. The reason, according to Andy Rubin in an official Android blog post, was because Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Motorola Xoom,[164] and they did not want third parties creating a "really bad user experience" by attempting to put onto smartphones a version of Android intended for tablets.[165] While much of Android itself is open source software, most Android devices ship with a large amount of proprietary software. Google licenses a suite of proprietary apps for Android, such as Play Store, Google Search, and Google Play Servicesa software layer which provides APIs that integrate with Google-provided services, among others.[90] These apps, along with the Android trademarks, can only be licensed by hardware manufacturers for devices that meet Google's compatibility standards contained within the Android Compatibility Definition Document; as such, forks of Android that make major changes to the OS itself, such as the Nokia X Software Platform, Amazon's Fire OS and Alibaba Group's Aliyun OS, do not include any of Google's non-free components, and are incompatible with apps that require them. Custom, certified distributions of Android produced by manufacturers (such as TouchWiz and HTC Sense) may also replace certain stock Android apps with their own proprietary variants and add additional software not included in the stock Android operating system.[3][166] With many devices, there are binary blobs that must be provided by the manufacturer in order for Android to work.[81] Several stock apps in Android's open source code used by previous versions (such as Search, Music, and Calendar) have also been effectively deprecated by Google, with development having shifted to newer but proprietary versions distributed and updated through Play Store, such as Google Search and Google Play Music. While these older apps remain in Android's source code, they have no longer received any major updates. Additionally, proprietary variants of the stock Camera and Gallery apps also include certain functions (such as Photosphere panoramas and Google+ album integration) that are excluded from the open source versions (however, they have yet to be completely abandoned). Similarly, the Nexus 5 uses a non-free variation of the Android 4.4 home screen that is embedded directly within the Google Search app, adding voice-activated search and the ability to access Google Now as a page on the home screen itself. Although an update for Google Search containing the relevant components was released through Google Play for all Android devices, the new home screen requires an additional stub application to function, which has not been officially released, and was not provided in the Android 4.4 updates for any other devices (which still use the existing home screen from 4.3).[3][167][168] Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation have been critical of Android and have recommended the usage of alternatives such as Replicant, because drivers and firmware vital for the proper functioning of Android devices are usually proprietary, and because Google Play allows non-free software.[169][170]
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