Android

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is ANDROID?

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key

applications. Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices based on the Linux

operating system and developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write

managed code in a Java-like language that utilizes Google-developed Java libraries, but does not support

programs developed in native code.

The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the

Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 hardware, software and telecom companies devoted to advancing

open standards for mobile devices. When released in 2008, most of the Android platform will be made

available under the Apache free-software and open-source license.

1.1.1 THE BIRTH OF ANDROID

In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc., a small startup company based in Palo Alto, CA.

Android's co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner

(co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (one of the

first engineers at WebTV). At the time, little was known about the functions of Android Inc. other than they

made software for mobile phones.

At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a Linux-based mobile device OS which they marketed

to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system. It was reported that

Google had already lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that

it was open to various degrees of cooperation on their part

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1.1.2. Hardware

Google has unveiled at least three prototypes for Android, at the Mobile World Congress on February

12, 2008. One prototype at the ARM booth displayed several basic Google applications. A 'd-pad' control

zooming of items in the dock with a relatively quick response.

A prototype at the Google IO conference on May 28, 2008 had a 528 MHz Qualcomm processor and

a Synaptic capacitive touch screen, and used the UMTS cellular standard. It had 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB

of flash, showing that Android's memory requirements are reasonable. The demo was carried out using a 3.6

Mbps HSDPA connection.

1.2 FEATURES
1.2.1. Application Framework

It is used to write applications for Android. Unlike other embedded mobile environments, Android

applications are all equal, for instance, an applications which come with the phone are no different than those

that any developer writes. The framework is supported by numerous open source libraries such as openssl,

SQLite and libc. It is also supported by the Android core libraries. From the point of security, the framework is

based on UNIX file system permissions that assure applications have only those abilities that mobile phone

owner gave them at install time.

1.2.2. Dalvik Virtual Machine

It is extremely low-memory based virtual machine, which was designed especially for Android to run

on embedded systems and work well in low power situations. It is also tuned to the CPU attributes. The Dalvik

VM creates a special file format (.DEX) that is created through build time post processing. Conversion

between Java classes and .DEX format is done by included “dx” tool.

1.2.3. Integrated Browser

Google made a right choice on choosing WebKit as open source web browser. They added a two pass

layout and frame flattening. Two pass layout loads a page without waiting for blocking elements, such as
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external CSS or external JavaScript and after a while renders again with all resources downloaded to the

device. Frame flattening converts founded frames into single one and loads into the browser. These features

increase speed and usability browsing the internet via mobile phone.

1.2.4. Optimized Graphics

As Android has 2D graphics library and 3D graphics based on OpenGL ES 1.0, possibly we will see

great applications like Google Earth and spectacular games like Second Life, which come on Linux version. At

this moment, the shooting legendary 3D game Doom was presented using Android on the mobile phone.

1.2.5. SQLite

Extremely small (< 500kb) relational database management system, is integrated in Android. It is

based on function calls and single file, where all definitions, tables and data are stored. This simple design is

more than suitable for a platform such as Android.

1.2.6. Handset Layouts

The platform is adaptable to both larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on

OpenGL ES 1.0 specifications, traditional smart phone layouts. An underlying 2D graphics engine is also

included. Surface Manager manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D

graphic layers from multiple applications

1.2.7. Data Storage

SQLite is used for structured data storage .SQLite is a powerful and

lightweight relational database engine available to all applications.

1.2.8. Connectivity
Android supports a wide variety of connectivity technologies including GSM,

CDMA, Bluetooth, EDGE, EVDO, 3G and Wi-Fi.

1.2.9. Messaging
SMS, MMS, and XMPP are available forms of messaging including threaded

text messaging.
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1.2.10. Web Browser

The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit application framework. It

includes LibWebCore which is a modern web browser engine which powers both the Android browser and an

embeddable web view.

1.2.11. Java Virtual Machine

Software written in Java can be compiled into Dalvik byte codes and executed in the Dalvik virtual

machine, which is a specialized VM implementation designed for mobile device use, although not technically a

standard Java Virtual Machine.

1.2.12. Media Support

Android will support advanced audio/video/still media formats such as

MPEG-4, H.264, MP3, and AAC, AMR, JPEG, PNG, GIF.

1.2.13. Additional Hardware Support

Android is fully capable of utilizing video/still cameras, touch screens, GPS,

compasses, accelerometers, and accelerated 3D graphics.

1.2.14. Development Environment

Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plug-in for

the Eclipse IDE. There are a number of hardware dependent features, for instance, a huge media and

connections support, GPS, improved support for Camera and simply GSM telephony. A great work was done

for the developers to start work with Android using device emulator, tools for debugging and plug-in for

Eclipse IDE.
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2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE TOPIC

2.1 OPERATION
2.1.1. Android Runtime

Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core

libraries of the Java programming language. Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own

instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs

efficiently.

The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal

memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have

been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool. The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for

underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

2.1.2. Linux Kernel

Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security, memory management,

process management, network stack, and driver model. The kernel also acts as an abstraction layer between the

hardware and the rest of the software stack.

It helps to manage security, memory management, process management, network stack and other

important issues. Therefore, the user should bring Linux in his mobile device as the main operating system and

install all the drivers required in order to run it.

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The

application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its

capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints

enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user. Underlying

all applications is a set of services and systems.

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2.2 ARCHITECTURE

The following diagram shows the major components of the Android operating system. Each section is
described in more detail below

Figure 2.1: Architecture of Android

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2.2.1. Linux Kernel

Android Architecture is based on Linux 2.6 kernel. It helps to manage security, memory management,

process management, network stack and other important issues. Therefore, the user should bring Linux in his

mobile device as the main operating system and install all the drivers required in order to run it. Android

provides the support for the Qualcomm MSM7K chipset family. For instance, the current kernel tree supports

Qualcomm MSM 7200A chipsets, but in the second half of 2008 we should see mobile devices with stable

version Qualcomm MSM 7200, which includes major features:

 WCDMA/HSUPA and EGPRS network support

 Bluetooth 1.2 and Wi-Fi support
 Digital audio support for mp3 and other formats
 Support for Linux and other third-party operating systems
 Java hardware acceleration and support for Java applications
 Qcamera up to 6.0 megapixels
 gpsOne– solution for GPS

2.2.2. Libraries

In the next level there are a set of native libraries written in C/C++, which are responsible for stable

performance of various components. For example, Surface Manager is responsible for composing different

drawing surfaces on the mobile screen. It manages the access for different processes to compose 2D and 3D

graphic layers. OpenGL ES and SGL make a core of graphic libraries and are used accordingly for 3D and 2D

hardware acceleration. Moreover, it is possible to use 2D and 3D graphics in the same application in Android.

The media framework was provided by Packet Video, one of the members of OHA. It gives libraries for a

playback and recording support for all the major media and static image files. Free Type libraries are used to

render all the bitmap and vector fonts. For data storage, Android uses SQLite. As mentioned before, it is extra

light rational management system, which locates a single file for all operations related to database. WebKit, the

same browser used by Apples’ Safari, was modified by Android in order to fit better in a small size screens.
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2.2.3. Android Runtime

At the same level there is Android Runtime, where the main component Dalvik Virtual Machine is

located. It was designed specifically for Android running in limited environment, where the limited battery,

CPU, memory and data storage are

the main issues. Android gives an integrated tool “dx”, which converts generated byte

code from .jar to .dex file, after this byte code becomes much more efficient to run on

the small processors .

Figure 2.2: Conversion from .java to .dex file

As the result, it is possible to have multiple instances of Dalvik virtual machine running on the single

device at the same time. The Core libraries are written in Java language and contains of the collection classes,

the utilities, IO and other tools.

2.2.4. Application Framework

After that, there is Application Framework, written in Java language. It is a toolkit that all

applications use, ones which come with mobile device like Contacts or SMS box, or applications written by

Google and any Android developer. It has several components.

The Activity Manager manages the life circle of the applications and provides a common navigation

back stack for applications, which are running in different processes. The Package Manager keeps track of the

applications, which are installed in the device. The Windows Manager is Java programming language

abstraction on the top of lower level services that are provided by the Surface Manager.
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The Telephony Manager contains of a set of API necessary for calling applications.

2.2.5. Application Layer

At the top of Android Architecture we have all the applications, which are used by the final user. By

installing different applications, the user can turn his mobile phone into the unique, optimized and smart

mobile phone. All applications are written using the Java programming language

2.3DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS
2.3.1. Application Building Blocks

We can think of an Android application as a collection of components, of various kinds. These

components are for the most part quite loosely coupled, to the degree where you can accurately describe them

as a federation of components rather than a single cohesive application.

Generally, these components all run in the same system process. It's possible (and quite common) to

create multiple threads within that process, and it's also possible to create completely separate child processes

if you need to. Such cases are pretty uncommon though, because Android tries very hard to make processes

transparent to your code.

Google provides three versions of SDK for Windows, for Mac OSX and one for Linux. The

developer can use Android plug-in for Eclipse IDE or other IDEs such as intelliJ.First step for Android

developer is to decompose the prospective application into the components, which are supported by the

platform. The major building blocks are these:

 Activity
 Intent Receiver
 Service
 Content Provider

2.3.2. AndroidManifest.xml
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The AndroidManifest.xml file is the control file that tells the system what to do with all the top-level

components (specifically activities, services, intent receivers, and content providers described below) you've

created. For instance, this is the "glue" that actually specifies which Intents your Activities receive.

A developer should predefine and list all components, which he wants to use in the specific

AndroidManifest.xml file. It is a required file for all the applications and is located in the root folder. It is

possible to specify all global values for the package, all the components and its classes used, intent filters,

which describe where and when the certain activity should start, permissions and instrumentation like security

control and testing.

2.3.3. Application Lifecycle

In Android, every application runs in its own process, which gives better performance in security,

protected memory and other benefits. Therefore, Android is responsible to run and shut down correctly these

processes when it is needed.

It is important that application developers understand how different application components (in

particular Activity, Service, and Broadcast Receiver) impact the lifetime of the application's process. Not using

these components correctly can result in the system killing the application's process while it is doing important

work.

To determine which processes should be killed when low on memory, Android places each process

into an "importance hierarchy" based on the components running in them and the state of those components.

These process types are (in order of importance).

1. A foreground process is one that is required for what the user is currently doing. Various application

components can cause its containing process to be considered foreground in different ways. A process is

considered to be in the foreground if any of the following conditions hold:

1.1. It is running an Activity at the top of the screen that the user is interacting

with (it’s on Resume () method has been called).

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1.2. It has a Broadcast Receiver that is currently running ( it’s

BroadcastReceiver.onReceive () method is executing).

1.3. It has a Service that is currently executing code in one of its callbacks

(Service.onCreate (), Service.onStart (), or Service.onDestroy ()).

1.4. There will only ever be a few such processes in the system, and these will only be killed as a last resort if

memory is so low that not even these processes can continue to run. Generally, at this point, the device has

reached a memory paging state, so this action is required in order to keep the user interface responsive.

2. A visible process is one holding an Activity that is visible to the user on-screen but not in the foreground (its

onPause () method has been called). This may occur, for example, if the foreground Activity is displayed as a

dialog that allows the previous Activity to be seen behind it. Such a process is considered extremely important

and will not be killed unless doing so is required to keep all foreground processes running.

3. A service process is one holding a Service that has been started with the startService () method. Though these

processes are not directly visible to the user, they are generally doing things that the user cares about (such as

background mp3 playback or background network data upload or download), so the system will always keep

such processes running unless there is not enough memory to retain all foreground and visible process.

4. A background process is one holding an Activity that is not currently visible to the user (its onStop () method has

been called). These processes have no direct impact on the user experience. Provided they implement their

Activity life-cycle correctly, the system can kill such processes at any time to reclaim memory for one of the

three previous processes types. Usually there are many of these processes running, so they are kept in an LRU

list to ensure the process that was most recently seen by the user is the last to be killed when running low on

memory.

5. An empty process is one that doesn't hold any active application components. The only reason to keep such a

process around is as a cache to improve startup time the next time a component of its application needs to run.

As such, the system will often kill these processes in order to balance overall system resources between these

empty cached processes and the underlying kernel caches.

 Android

Figure 2.3: Flowchart Showing the Lifecycle of an Activity

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2.3.4. Application Framework

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The

application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its

capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints

enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.

Underlying all applications is a set of services and systems, including:

1. A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including lists, grids, text boxes,
buttons, and even an embeddable web browser

2. Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such as Contacts), or to
share their own data

3. A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as

localized strings, graphics, and layout files

4. A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom

alerts in the status bar

5. An Activity Manager that manages the life cycle of applications and

provides a common navigation backtrack
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2.3.5. Library
 Android includes a set of C/C++ libraries used by various components of the Android system. These

capabilities are exposed to developers through the Android application framework. Some of the core

libraries are listed below:

 System C library - a BSD-derived implementation of the standard C

system library (libc), tuned for embedded Linux-based devices.

 Media Libraries - based on Packet Video’s Open CORE; the libraries support playback and recording

of many popular audio and video formats, as well as static image files, including MPEG4, H.264,

MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG

 Surface Manager - manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D

graphic layers from multiple applications.

 3D libraries - an implementation based on OpenGL ES 1.0 APIs; the libraries use either hardware 3D

acceleration (where available) or the included, highly optimized 3D software rasterizer.

2.4 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

The feedback on developing applications for the Android platform has been mixed. Issues cited

include bugs, lack of documentation, inadequate QA .The first publicly available application was the

Snake game.

2.4.1. Software Development kit

It includes development and debugging tools, a set of libraries, a device emulator,

documentation, sample projects, tutorials, and FAQs. Requirements also include Java Development

Kit, Apache Ant, and Python 2.2 or later. The only officially supported integrated development

environment (IDE) is Eclipse 3.2 or later, through the Android Development Tools Plug-in, but

programmers can use command line tools to create, build and debug Android applications.
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Partial Listing of Open Handset Alliance Participants

Figure 2.12

2.5 SECURITY ISSUES

Android mobile phone platform is going to be more secure than Apple’s iPhone or any other device in

the long run. There are several solutions nowadays to protect Google phone from various attacks. One of them

is security vendor McAfee, a member of Linux Mobile (LiMo) Foundation. This foundation joins particular

companies to develop an open mobile-device software platform. Many of the companies listed in the LiMo

Foundation have also become members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

As a result, Linux secure coding practice should successfully be built into the Android development

process. However, open platform has its own disadvantages, such as source code vulnerability for black-hat

hackers. In parallel with great opportunities for mobile application developers, there is an expectation for

exploitation and harm. Stealthy Trojans hidden in animated images, particular viruses passed from friend to

friend, used for spying and identity theft, all these threats will be active for a long run.
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Another solution for such attacks is SMobile Systems mobile package. Security Shield–an integrated

application that includes anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall and other mobile protection is up and ready to run on

the Android operating system. Currently, the main problem is availability for viruses to pose as an application

and do things like dial phone numbers, send text messages or multi-media messages or make connections to

the Internet during normal device use. It is possible for somebody to use the GPS feature to track a person’s

location without their knowledge. Hence SMobile Systems is ready to notify and block these secure alerts. But

the truth is that it is not possible to secure your mobile device or personal computer completely, as it connects

to the internet. And neither the Android phone nor other devices will prove to be the exception.

2.6 COMPARISON
2.6.1 Speculations With Cellular Carriers

Google Android enters a tangled mess of cellular carrier world. As a new player in the mobile market, Android

brings an open platform with the new rules. On the one hand there is OHA with major companies and carries,

such as T -Mobile and Sprint. On the other hand, there are two largest cellular carries AT&T and Verizon

Wireless in United States, which have a vested interest in operating systems of their own. It is predictable, that

Sprint or T-Mobile will be first carriers providing devices with Google Android. This ensures equal

development time for the networks, GSM side and CDMA. But the main problem, which faces all the cellular

carriers around the world, is the availability to download and use free applications that could block almost

every communications product they sell. A user does not need to pay for GPS mapping service anymore. He

can simply download a free one that taps into Google Maps.

In fact, why pay for cellular minutes at all when a user can download Skype, Gtalk or other client and

just use his data plan? OS’s such as Android threaten carrierswith a loss of control over the applications on the

phones on their network and they may find themselves becoming nothing more than wireless Internet service

providers, forced to compete on price and bandwidth.

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2.6.2 Market Research

A new generation of mobile device users is coming in the next decade. These users are going to

explore the mobile internet afresh with its new features, compatible mobile phones, new services and

applications.

This is a huge leap for mobile advertisement business, where revenue could rise 8 times more by
2012. Google Android is going to present new solutions through the fast search engine, open source
applications and other services.

The Kelsey Group, which works with public opinion polls and statistics, published the results released
October 11 2007,which say, that one hundred out of 500, or 20 percent of people would be interested in
purchasing a Google phone. Despite the fact, that Google Android is in alpha version and it is unknown for the
customers and mobile market, the results look promising.

The diagram below shows the study, which was conducted in September 2007 via an online 30-
question survey of 500 U.S. mobile phone users aged 18 and older. People do not find a good Internet
experience in their phones today, so they are more interested in gravitating toward an Internet or technology
company telephone
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Figure 2.13

because they think connectivity between devices and to the Internet is going to be much better on those

phones. They use Google search, GMail, Google Maps, Picasa albums and other popular services on their

computers, and this is what they expect to have in their mobile devices in the close future.
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2.6.3 Mobile Services

Adding to its fast growing suite of mobile applications and services, Google has applied for a patent

for a mobile payments service that would allow users to make payments at retail shops using their mobile

phones.

Figure 2.14: Figure describes Google’s mobile focused payments called GPay

Described as "a computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic on-line payment," the

system mentioned in the patent application is similar to existing mobile payment services.
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2.6.4 What makes Android special?

There are already many mobile platforms on the market today, including Symbian, iPhone, Windows

Mobile, BlackBerry, Java Mobile Edition, Linux Mobile (LiMo), and more.

While some of its features have appeared before, Android is the first environment that

combines:

 A truly open, free development platform based on Linux and open source. Handset makers like it

because they can use and customize the platform without paying a royalty. Developers like it because

they know that the platform “has legs” and is not locked into any one vendor that may go under or be

acquired.

 A component-based architecture inspired by Internet mash-ups. Parts of one application can be used in

another in ways not originally envisioned by the developer. You can even replace built-in components

with your own improved versions. This will unleash a new round of creativity in the mobile space.

 Tons of built-in services out of the box. Location based services use GPS or cell tower triangulation to

let you customize the user experience depending on where they are. A full-powered SQL database lets

you harness the power of local storage for occasionally connected computing and synchronization.

Browser and Map views can be embedded directly in your applications. All these built-in capabilities

help to raise the bar on functionality while lowering your development costs.

 Automatic management of the application life cycle. Programs are isolated from each other by

multiple layers of security, which will provide a level of system stability not seen before in smart
 Android
phones. The end user will no longer have to worry about what applications are active, or close some

programs so that others can run. Android is optimized for low-power, low- memory devices in a

fundamental way that no previous platform has attempted.

 High quality graphics and sound. Smooth, anti-aliased 2D vector graphics and animation inspired by

Flash is melded with 3D accelerated OpenGL graphics to enable new kinds of games and business

applications.Co d e c’ s for the most common industry standard audio and video formats are built right

in, including H.264 (AVC), MP3, and AAC.

 Portability across a wide range of current and future hardware. All your programs are written in Java

and executed by Android’s Dalvik virtual machine so your code will be portable across ARM,x86, and

other architectures. Support for a variety of input methods is included such as keyboard, touch, tilt,

camera, voice, and trackball. User interfaces can be customized for any screen resolution and

orientation. Android is a fresh take on the way mobile applications interact with users, along with the

technical underpinnings to make it possible. But the best part of Android is the software that you are

going to write for it. This book will help you get off to a great start.

2.6.5 Android And Java ME

Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME (previously known as Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition or

J2ME) is a specification of a subset of the Java platform aimed at providing a certified collection of Java APIs

for the development of software for small, resource-constrained devices. Though, do not confuse it with

Google Android, even there are some similarities:

 Eclipse plug-ins for J2ME and Android look very similar and interface very
well with their respective SDKs;
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 Both J2ME and Android seem to share the same core Java APIs, such as java.util and java.net. But

their APIs for graphics, UIs, etc. are very dissimilar and philosophies for developing applications are

very different;

 Android seems to be more tightly integrated (up to even the OS services provided and how they

interact with the APIs), while J2ME is far more liberal in its specifications for the developer and

mobile device manufacturer

 A slower application development and performance– these are the main disadvantages Java's J2ME

have for today. J2ME apps are second-rate citizens in the phones. They do not have an access to most

of the low-level features, like call API, external connectivity (USB) and other. There is no way to

replace or extend built-in phone apps like contacts, calendar and calls.

 For instance, J2ME applications in Nokia devices with S60 work great for standard tasks. But more

advanced users find difficulties handling Wi-Fi access points with S60, because APIs simply do not

seem to be exposed to J2ME. A user may find difficulties synchronizing Google Calendar with his

device - nobody seems to have been able to figure out how to make the J2ME calendar interfaces

work correctly on S60. There are lots of problems with Java applications on S60, even though S60

probably has one of the best Java implementations.

 Android fills a void in Java Mobile applications by providing API to build richer applications - more

useful for Smart Phones which contain the ability to provide these types of functionalities. If J2ME

filled every void, Android as an API wouldn't be needed (though Android as an OS could still fill a

void).

 Google has written its own virtual machine for Android most likely as a way to get around licensing

issues with Sun. However, Android does not include a complete and compliant Java stack (neither

JME nor JSE); only a subset and therefore it is technically not the Java platform, it just looks a lot like

it.
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2.6.6 Advantages

 Open- Android allows you to access core mobile device functionality through
standard API calls.

 All applications are equal- Android does not differentiate between the phone's basic and
third-party applications -- even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

 Breaking down boundaries- Combine information from the web with data on the phone --
such as contacts or geographic location -- to create new user experiences.

 Fast and easy development- The SDK contains what you need to build and run Android
applications, including a true device emulator and advanced debugging tools.

2.6.7 Disadvantages

 Security- Making source code available to everyone inevitably invites the

attention of black hat hackers.

 Open Source- A disadvantage of open-source development is that anyone can

Scrutinize the source code to find vulnerabilities and write exploits.

 Login- Platform doesn't run on an encrypted file system and has a vulnerable
log-in.

 Incompetence - Google’s dependence on hardware and carrier partners puts

the final product out of their control
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