Android is Linux Based?

Question

Android is Linux Based?

Answer 1

What the other guy is saying is this: The actual runnable bootable form of Android is not necessarily free. The source code is. To make source code run, you have to "compile" it. So then you'd have to have a compiler that can output runnable programs (called binaries) that work with YOUR PARTICULAR PHONE. Let's say you have a Samsung. Well, LG phones have different hardware, so the binaries from an LG would not run on a Samsung. The code has to be compiled specifically for the Samsung.



Another misconception: Linux is not freeware. It's open source. Notice that you can't go download Red Hat Linux (in binary/runnable form). You CAN, however, download the source code, and compile it yourself. In fact, that's what CentOS is. They take out all the Red Hat logos, replace those logos with CentOS logos, then compile Red Hat and offer it for free download. But that doesn't make it freeware. The open source licenses are different.



PS: Regarding your answer on the Mac v PC question, Macs are NOT based on Linux. They're based on BSD, which is completely different.

Answer 2

Android is Linux based and is free.



Here's the deal, you have to have support and drivers for it...drivers and everything else that's modular doesn't have to be open-source. That's just the way Linux is and always has been.



So, yeah, android is free, but it's been modified so it isn't 100% the same as linux - it's been tweaked to be lighter.



If you want the source, here it is:

http://android.git.kernel.org/



EDIT: Want Android on your current phone? Try going to http://forum.xda-developers.com/ and see if they have your phone model.

Answer 3

You can download all the code for Android for free, and install it any phone you want, provided you have the technical skills.



The main barrier for installing Android any phone you want, much like the main barrier for installing Linux on any computer you want, is driver support.



Drivers are the stuff that lets software and hardware communicate with one another. Every device with different hardware needs unique drivers. It requires knowledge and skill with both hardware and software to be able to write your own drivers.



Here is a public repository where you can download all of Android's code for free:

https://github.com/android

Answer 4

Android is Free and Open Source Software. You can download it and compile it for your phone or you can use other peoples' binaries which are compiled for your phone. But a lot of people miss the point Richard Stallman (who wrote the gpl which MAKES Linux Free) makes when he says "Free Software is Free as in Freedom, not as in beer." I used to pay forty bucks a shot for Red Hat Linux (the predecessor to both RHEL and Fedora) at staples. I sent away for my first own Slackware disks for the same price to support the project. You CAN charge for this stuff as long as you make the source code available -- which Google does. And other people can give it away (look up CEntOS). Telcos are another story. And the joke goes look up Peter Lorre and Vincent Price. They don't want to work with "free as in beer" software and will charge you whenever they can. That's reality. If you want to put it on, check to see if it's not forbidden by your terms of service. If not, you're all set. Either download it type "./configure" and make or download someone else's binaries. Google search is a good way to find it.

Answer 5

Firstly, Linux is not freeware. It's open source. There's a difference.



Second, you CAN download Android and boot it on your phone for free, provided you're able to compile it for your hardware.

Answer 6

Android is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28operating_system%29





LUg.