Can ROM updates be provided as patches instead of entire ROM zip? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I see that all the ROMs keep getting updates as part of nightlies/weeklies/major-updates etc.
With the changed version, everytime we have to download the whole file again for flashing the update(Even with the OTA).
Will it not be a good idea to provide the updates as flashable zips(obv the smaller sizes involving only the changed portions) as with every version of these ROMs, the changes are mostly the surface changes? And when there is a stable release that can be released fully.
Advantage - Less bandwidth usage.
I know its the users choice to download and use the updates but all i want to say is that if the updates come in small flashable zips, it would be easier for us.

I very much doubt developers here will do that. Ever. Easier for them with the current arrangements; what's easier for developers comes first, second, third, fourth, nine hundred and sixty four thousand three hundred and forty second, and what's easier for users comes last.
And as this is a developer's site, not a user's site, this is exactly how it should be. However, go ask some individual devs as to why things are done the way they are; they'll probably be able to give you a more detailed explanation of why - in a nutshell it's easier for them to keep track of a whole rom that's been released, rather than patches to fix this and patches to fix that. From a maintenance POV it would quickly become a nightmare to keep track of.

MistahBungle said:
I very much doubt developers here will do that. Ever. Easier for them with the current arrangements; what's easier for developers comes first, second, third, fourth, nine hundred and sixty four thousand three hundred and forty second, and what's easier for users comes last.
And as this is a developer's site, not a user's site, this is exactly how it should be. However, go ask some individual devs as to why things are done the way they are; they'll probably be able to give you a more detailed explanation of why - in a nutshell it's easier for them to keep track of a whole rom that's been released, rather than patches to fix this and patches to fix that. From a maintenance POV it would quickly become a nightmare to keep track of.
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964342!!! really??
in my country we do not have affordable high speed unlimited download plans and thats why i got this thought. I was just wondering if it had a technical POV or its just about ease of management.

Yep it's the ease of management thing. It's difficult enough to try and provide support for users with the 'whole rom system' (with different phone setups so far as apps/kernels/etc are concerned), as you can imagine , if it was patches for fixes/new features/whatever, you'd end up with almost unlimited possible 'combinations' a given user could have (Has patch A, D & E but not B, C, F & so on) for the same rom.
The way it is now, it's a case of 'you're running version 4.2' or '27042014 nightly' & that's it. Keeps it simple for all concerned (unless you're running a different kernel which is still fairly simple).

Related

How to build a perfect ROM

Know the Basics
Without knowing what you are getting yourself into will only make things worse even before you start off. To build a good Rom is different and to atleast build a fully functional Rom is different. So make sure you are fully aware of the technical fundamentals of building a Rom to enough extent so that you are able to fix the bugs and know what and where can things go wrong and how to solve them.
Performance, Memory, Stability and Battery
These are the four defining points which decide the pros and cons of the Rom that you develop. The Rom should be Fast, Have enough storage and program memory, should be stable and have a good battery backup. Trying to get a good balance of all these is very important. So make sure you keep all these things in mind while developing your Rom.
Be Patient and Polite
Building a good/perfect or bug free Rom wont come immediately. It’ll take many releases, experiments, testing and knowledge till you reach a nearly perfect Rom. So be patient as it sometimes takes weeks or sometimes months. Dealing with the public is not an easy job. You’ll find all sort of people of various characters. The can be nice as well as rude, but do remember that their critics are the only way you can improve. All they want from you is a good Rom, just keep this in mind and ignore the negatives.
Make it User Friendly
There are many ways in which you can make your Rom user friendly. Integrating useful apps. Prepping Eye candy themes, Important shortcuts etc.
Stay Motivated
This is the only driving force behind every Rom developer to continue doing their work with ease and success. Stay motivated and alert so that you can deliver the best with every release. Its hard sometimes but its it important.
Give Time to your Work
Most of the developers are either students or work some where and building Roms is some what like a hobby for us. Its correct that we are not supposed to spend all the time on building Roms but if we want to have a good working Rom we should manage considerable amount of time for few alternate days to work on this project.
Make it Different
You Rom characteristics should be some what different from what is already been provided by other developers. If its nothing different and Catchy then it’ll be hard to get users trying your Rom consistently. I still remember the days when i used to try alot of different Roms but still couldn’t find one that was nearly perfecting my needs. I tried alot of Roms that time.
Join Hands with another Developer
This is what i like the most. Join hands and team up with other developers and thus improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your Rom. The mind of two can bring together wonders. You can even team up with Developers of other devices and build a Rom for device that you personally do not own but you you widen your work area.
Don’t be ignorant
Make sure you are attentive and up to date with all what is discussed about your Rom, all bugs, all tests, reports, etc. so that you do not miss out on any bug possibly to be fixed for next release. If you ignore or avoid fixing the important bugs, the users will think that you are not really capable of solving them or not really interested in this Rom.
Get Testers
Testers are users who like to test the Rom and report you the bugs before you go public with the release. They are very helpful if you like to avoid the criticism after the release of the Rom as before itself you’ll be able to get rid of maximum number of Bugs and issues present in the Rom. That is where testers come in handy. Jus give a notice and many would love to try and test your Beta releases.
Keep Detailed Changelogs
Changelogs keep track of your developments over the time. They come in handy when ever you need to check for prolonged bugs. For example you may not notice it but if someone reports that he has been having an issue since your 3rd Rom release, then you can check out what all changes you made on that release and cross check whether one of those changes cause that bug.
Be Active on the Rom Page
This is the most important part of being interactive with the users cause there is alot that they want to be done in your Rom. Talk to them, answer their questions and discuss the pros and cons of the Roms with them. You can learn alot from them. Being active to the discussion will make them feel that you are eager to further develop and make this Rom improve further.
Add only Useful apps and Regularly Update them
Make sure the application you add to your Rom are useful by the people. Adding two Music Players in the Rom is not a good choice. Choose one that is best and use that only. But make sure you add one possibly best Application for all needs of the users. Keep track of all the applications that you have included in your Rom and make sure the latest versions are included. It keep the user feel updated with your Rom. Many times there are applications which are important to add but have some bug. Later these bugs are fixed in their next releases, so even you should add those updated fixed Applications. Use only Genuine Licenses and No Warez Applications. Warez is like a virus to the development of your Rom. Copyright issues and illegal use of cracked applications make pose a ban on you Roms by the Blogs and threads where you list them. Either you use development licenses to use the in your Roms or use an equally good free Application.
Good looking User Interface and Graphics
This is the major aspect that defines your Rom and makes it distinct from others. Work on that graphics that can be changed in your Rom, try different themes and skin enhancements in different aspects of os like dialer, lockscreen, fonts etc.
Keep Polls and ask Questions
Polls and asking questions from users is a very important way by which you can interact with users and get their feedback. Polls can be asking them about their preferences. Which applications they like or dislike, asking frequents questions on that changes you will be making in the Rom cause at the end of the day it is them who will be using them.
Learn from Competition
I don’t call the fellow developers a competition and usually many share their work and are supportive like i am to each other’s work. But you can learn from what is included in their Rom and if its catchy and important then you can add it to your Rom aswel. There might be many new and useful applications and features that other developers might be using and you are not even aware of that. It can be very helpful in evolving your Rom completely.
Listen and Learn from Users
Listening what a user has to say about their experiences on using your Rom is very important. They might have something very important to share from their experiences which you can incorporate in your Rom. It really helps in fixing bugs and improving your Rom further.
In the end you are the Decision Maker
Its you who has to take the decisions in the end. There will be many people wanting you to do this or that and add this or remove that but in the end you have to keep an unbiased judgment on all the requests, ideas and suggestions and bring forward the changes that you feel the masses are going to appreciate. And for that you will need to take care of all the above mentioned points in mind.
Give Credits
Not to forget that 70%-80% of your work is inspired from that of other developers. And it wonk charge you anything to be humbly give credit or some appreciation to the help you have got from other developers in terms of guides, tips, tricks, applications, UI Enhancements, etc. It just shows your character as a person as well.

[Discussion][Poll] Do you think we need "ROM Categories" for Gingerbread releases ?

[Discussion][Poll] Do you think we need "ROM Categories" for Gingerbread releases ?
Hi all, building upon a conversation started on this thread regarding the different Gingerbread ROMs that are being currently tested/released by our much appreciated developers, I'd like to start a discussion and poll to get your opinion about the need for "ROM Categories", that is, a small group (probably 3 or 4) of "Guidelines" so developers could focus their ROMs to target specific group of users or usage of the ROM, something like:
- Performance: Getting the most juice out of your phone and getting the best score for benchmarks, but perhaps with the sacrifice of stability and/or certain functions of the handset and battery life.
- Gamer: Focused on the best graphics and GPU performance for best results in games and graphics apps, but perhaps with the sacrifice of battery life.
- Stability: Stock-like ROMs that covers ALL the functions of the handset with the best battery life and stability, but with the added value of certain tweaks that gives you that "something extra" to justify rooting your phone and installing a custom ROM so you can enjoy those (I pretty much fall into this category)
(Those are just the few that comes to my mind, I think that if this proposal actually goes through the actual categories should be agreed on by the community)
I base this proposal on the following:
1.-) I've been testing many ROMs over the last few days and I've noticed that even though there's been many developers that have released custom ROMs over the last few months, only handful of them (those guys that we all know and love) have kept working on refining their work as the different Android versions had passed by, so at this point (with the official release of Gingerbread for the P500) I think it would be possible that developers could work together and focus their work with specific goals, like having a well polished ROM for each category and keep developing those. The idea is not to pretend that developers wouldn't have freedom to do their work exactly as they want to, essentially because they are doing this because they enjoy it, not because we're hiring them to do it. What I mean is that if developers "categorize" their ROMs then either themselves (or new developers) could easily spot what categories are being underdeveloped, and make the decision like "hey... nobody is doing anything for "X" category, so I'm going to do something about it". At this point they could agree to either work together for specific goals, or work individually knowing that one of them is working on fulfilling the need on a specific category.
2.-) As far as I can tell Gingerbread 2.3 is the last official version that LG is going to release for the P500 line, so I believe that once developers get to stabilize their custom versions of it (ROMs and Kernel) the P500 community will start to fade away as we all (developers and users) start to move on the newer handsets, so I guess that probably the best legacy that we can all leave for this community would be a handful of custom ROMs that we could keep using on our phones depending on the type of use that we give to it, until it's time to move on to another handset.
3.-) Having specific categories could help a lot when it comes to testing (and gathering results of those tests), essentially because most of us on the "user side" would surely focus their testing upon the way that they use their handsets, and that would translate on more people doing the testing for a handful of ROMs, instead of everyone testing everything (which usually translates into nobody testing anything).
Well I guess that's enough to make my point, the rest is up to you all to either vote and give some comments here or just say: "Hey n00b, what the #(=$/# your're talking about dude!!!" LOL, don't worry I can live with that
We should definitely have this.
Sent from my LG-P509 (Optimus T) with Void Gear using XDA App
Well actually we do have a thread like this. The repository sticky on dev subforum. It has all the roms, kernels, guides, mods etc sorted nicely with short and informative descriptions ( Repository ) and since ciaox started to maintain the thread it is always up to date with the latest stuff. If you got any suggestions or something for repository to become better you could just post it there.

[Q] ICS ROM distro feature chart?

I have a request.
I don't have the patience -and neither should anyone else - to read through every thread for every new one-man-band distro somebody slaps together. Would it be possible to put together a standardized Wiki-type feature list or chart that every distro poster must include in their announcement?
I'll be honest- I don't care two bits about your shiny custom boot logo, or the colour choices of your phone dialpad buttons. But I want to know what official or beta build your ROM is based on, what Linux kernel it runs, whether manufacturer apps/bloatware have been stripped, what standard apps you've added, what install method is required.. you know, FUNCTIONAL THINGS, and I don't want to have to read THIRTY PAGES of banter to find them.
I think this standardization would be a great way to help people find EXACTLY what they want, and more readily promote those distributions that keep up to date regularly or offer the features/configuration most people want.
I like the bit where you said thanks to the devs for the countless hours of work they put into making these ROMs and how grateful you are.
Oh...
It's all written already here, just follow the instructions when you get there.
Otherwise, I'd suggest sticking to a stock ROM and Kies.
So I presume you'll be putting such a thread together rather than whinging about the non-existence of same then ? (There's a hint in there if you're smart enough)
Jeez how the F88ing hell have i managed to find what the OP wants i will never know .
OP is completely against the first rule of XDA this is a developers forum not a spoon feeding help forum .
First post i see lets hope its the last judged on its arrogant whinging i want i want tone .
jje

Ready for some WAVES...

Theres something that was pointed out to me by a new friend, that I had to vent about.. so HERE IT IS!!1
Why are some people too good to hang out in their threads and answer questions about the builds they post???
It seems to me that it builds credibility, to help the people using your build, so why not hang out and answer questions, address issues, help finding solutions, offer advice... BE HUMAN
Sure its great that new builds are being pushed out constantly... BUT IF YOURE NOT TALKING TO THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE CURRENT ONE AND EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WHAT GOOD IS IT????
Step down from the clouds, and walk barefoot on the grass with the rest of us.. its cool and refreshing on your feet
WOW Man..
pitbull8265 said:
Theres something that was pointed out to me by a new friend, that I had to vent about.. so HERE IT IS!!1
Why are some people too good to hang out in their threads and answer questions about the builds they post???
It seems to me that it builds credibility, to help the people using your build, so why not hang out and answer questions, address issues, help finding solutions, offer advice... BE HUMAN
Sure its great that new builds are being pushed out constantly... BUT IF YOURE NOT TALKING TO THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE CURRENT ONE AND EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WHAT GOOD IS IT????
Step down from the clouds, and walk barefoot on the grass with the rest of us.. its cool and refreshing on your feet
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Could not have said it better.... You hit the nail right on the head.. People respect those who back their work with support:good::good::good:
This DOES seem to be in SHORT reserve.. WELL STATED
Impressive
I have noticed this too.. Its like these people are too GOOD for Q&A and sometimes even respond to questions like they are PETTY and an inconvenience.. There ARE some who DO help, and those people deserve to know they are appreciated.. You in particular, have helped me a ton, so thanks.. Maybe you'll start a movement, and more people will start doing their part to help their followers...
+1
There is a SERIOUS shortage of helpers and an overage of shovelers
All these builds keep coming, and still the same problems on the one they put out before with a different NAME for the ROM.. Its like they change the name and recycled it..
I read through threads now, and if the OP doesn't hang out and help their users, I wont use their builds anymore.
Couldn't agree more!! Nicely said too
Be proud of your work.. Stick around and make sure people can..ya know, enjoy it too..
It's quality not quantity that matters. Stepping on other teams and developers to rush something out just to say "FIRST" will get you no where.. So while timely updates are important, if that's the only thing you post in your own thread.. "New build is up" when there's been 10 pages of people asking questions... I'll never support you, both publicly or financially.
I understand new enthusiast can be quite frustrating or maybe you just aren't a people type of person.. team up with someone that is... pass the q&a on to them, but do fricking something, people want support for YOUR roms and if you put out 20..that means all 20.
Exactly, how dare these developers not spend any time in the forums answering the same useless non-informative questions over and over. How dare they spend countless hours building a ROMs for free and then share it for others to use. How dare they spend time with their families and go to their actual job and have a life. How dare they….. (/sarcasm)
mapatton82 said:
Exactly, how dare these developers not spend any time in the forums answering the same useless non-informative questions over and over. How dare they spend countless hours building a ROMs for free and then share it for others to use. How dare they spend time with their families and go to their actual job and have a life. How dare they….. (/sarcasm)
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Yea, I'm somewhere between this and the op. They shouldn't be 100% absent, but on the same note, some consideration for the above quote is in order too.
While were venting, its possible the devs haven't figured out how to fix some of these issues, but it doesn't do a dam bit of good for 50 people to complain about the same thing and no one is posting logcats. So don't complain about things not getting fixed, if your not attaching logs to every post about issues.
Just my 2c, add 97c more and go buy a cheeseburger.
Sent from my G3, Unlocked by Team Codefire
mapatton82 said:
Exactly, how dare these developers not spend any time in the forums answering the same useless non-informative questions over and over. How dare they spend countless hours building a ROMs for free and then share it for others to use. How dare they spend time with their families and go to their actual job and have a life. How dare they….. (/sarcasm)
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Then why put out 20 instead of 1 that they can handle is the point!!
Variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have 20 that will get fixed eventually than just 1 that works perfectly. If they are all too similar for you then just move on to another one, build your own, or just wait for fully featured lollipop which will be here soon enough. If a thread is maintained or not - I'm just happy to have a thread. A couple devs have walked away already and it'd suck if more left. Just be grateful for what we've got and be patient.
Kris Nelson said:
Then why put out 20 instead of 1 that they can handle is the point!!
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The same person is not releasing 20 different versions. Also, most are all based off of the AOSP core source, but each dev might add their own touch/flare to it. But, since each one is based off of AOSP, then more than likely, they will all have the same issues, unless the dev has made some changes.
I'd rather have a lot of choices than none. Believe me, when there is NO dev support (that is, a lot of ROMs being release), then you get even MORE whining of "Why isn't there any ROMs/dev support for this?"
Maybe you're not a dev, but I am (not for ROMs but that is my full-time job). Development takes a lot of time. I do it at work and to do it at home as well, especially for something that is free, takes a lot of time and dedication. Especially, ROM development is NOT an easy task. Rebuilding ROMs takes at least 90 minutes or more, depending on the speed of your machine, the size of the source code, etc. Heck, I've pulled down the git for CM12 and it's 12gb in size (source code only, not compiled) and it took hours to download over my high-speed internet connection at home.
I can understand wanting support if you PAID for it, but this is free, people. Free. They don't ask for anything in return monetarily, and yet, we see people demanding support as if they paid for it. You get what you pay for, and in this case, it's free. But I feel the support most devs give is very good, considering it's free. Also, for things like CM, it's usually not just one dev, but several who have responsibilities for different parts of the Android code base. So, just because one guy posts about it, doesn't mean he's the only dev on it. He might be sending your findings back to the other devs.
Also, you DON'T have to flash these custom ROMs. They all have disclaimers that the dev is not responsible for any damages that may occur to your phone. They don't guarantee support, but it's there for you to use. However, who is to say they aren't monitoring the forums? Just because they don't respond, doesn't mean they aren't looking into the issues you report.
Yes, I understand how you want a response from them, but in the end, it is your choice whether you want to flash or not. They didn't twist your arm to do it.
Keep posting your defects. Most devs, the good ones, do monitor the forums and take note of the issues. However, they know about other major issues that they are probably trying to work on. Again, for most, it is done in their spare time.
I myself would like to build and release ROMs, but right now, I don't have the time. it's not just "make a change, compile, release". There is a lot of researching, debugging, etc that must go on. Those that are programmers understand this. And, once you fix a bug, you don't just go and release it (under normal circumstances). You have to go through a complete testing cycle, retesting previous tests along with any new tests to ensure you didn't break something else. It's not that simple.
However, with these free releases, WE are the testers. WE are the ones that report back the issues so they can be addressed. Post them here, or even some devs have Twitter pages where you can post defects. Not all, but some.
In the end, be thankful you have so many choices. Yes, it may seem as if they are all the same, and in some cases they are and some are from people who just want to say "look I released a ROM" and then you never hear from them again. But, in the case of XDA, to post about a ROM in the dev forum, I believe you have to be an identified developer, so they do have to go through some vetting process. So, more than likely, they are legit developers, not a fly-by-night person.
Just wanted to get that off my chest. I understand what people feel, but you have to understand, this is not an easy thing to do. Maybe a lot of you understand that, but I find that a lot don't. Or, they say they understand, when they really don't. They just "think" they understand.
Wow. Off the soapbox. It just burns me as a developer when I see things like this. Yes, I understand where you are coming from, but sometimes, I think you need to hear it from the other side as well.
Ciao!
If you're a good parent, when you bring a child into this world, you raise it, and nurture it... creating it is not enough...
noun
1.
the act or process of developing; growth; progress:
iBolski said:
The same person is not releasing 20 different versions. Also, most are all based off of the AOSP core source, but each dev might add their own touch/flare to it. But, since each one is based off of AOSP, then more than likely, they will all have the same issues, unless the dev has made some changes.
I'd rather have a lot of choices than none. Believe me, when there is NO dev support (that is, a lot of ROMs being release), then you get even MORE whining of "Why isn't there any ROMs/dev support for this?"
Maybe you're not a dev, but I am (not for ROMs but that is my full-time job). Development takes a lot of time. I do it at work and to do it at home as well, especially for something that is free, takes a lot of time and dedication. Especially, ROM development is NOT an easy task. Rebuilding ROMs takes at least 90 minutes or more, depending on the speed of your machine, the size of the source code, etc. Heck, I've pulled down the git for CM12 and it's 12gb in size (source code only, not compiled) and it took hours to download over my high-speed internet connection at home.
I can understand wanting support if you PAID for it, but this is free, people. Free. They don't ask for anything in return monetarily, and yet, we see people demanding support as if they paid for it. You get what you pay for, and in this case, it's free. But I feel the support most devs give is very good, considering it's free. Also, for things like CM, it's usually not just one dev, but several who have responsibilities for different parts of the Android code base. So, just because one guy posts about it, doesn't mean he's the only dev on it. He might be sending your findings back to the other devs.
Also, you DON'T have to flash these custom ROMs. They all have disclaimers that the dev is not responsible for any damages that may occur to your phone. They don't guarantee support, but it's there for you to use. However, who is to say they aren't monitoring the forums? Just because they don't respond, doesn't mean they aren't looking into the issues you report.
Yes, I understand how you want a response from them, but in the end, it is your choice whether you want to flash or not. They didn't twist your arm to do it.
Keep posting your defects. Most devs, the good ones, do monitor the forums and take note of the issues. However, they know about other major issues that they are probably trying to work on. Again, for most, it is done in their spare time.
I myself would like to build and release ROMs, but right now, I don't have the time. it's not just "make a change, compile, release". There is a lot of researching, debugging, etc that must go on. Those that are programmers understand this. And, once you fix a bug, you don't just go and release it (under normal circumstances). You have to go through a complete testing cycle, retesting previous tests along with any new tests to ensure you didn't break something else. It's not that simple.
However, with these free releases, WE are the testers. WE are the ones that report back the issues so they can be addressed. Post them here, or even some devs have Twitter pages where you can post defects. Not all, but some.
In the end, be thankful you have so many choices. Yes, it may seem as if they are all the same, and in some cases they are and some are from people who just want to say "look I released a ROM" and then you never hear from them again. But, in the case of XDA, to post about a ROM in the dev forum, I believe you have to be an identified developer, so they do have to go through some vetting process. So, more than likely, they are legit developers, not a fly-by-night person.
Just wanted to get that off my chest. I understand what people feel, but you have to understand, this is not an easy thing to do. Maybe a lot of you understand that, but I find that a lot don't. Or, they say they understand, when they really don't. They just "think" they understand.
Wow. Off the soapbox. It just burns me as a developer when I see things like this. Yes, I understand where you are coming from, but sometimes, I think you need to hear it from the other side as well.
Ciao!
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Thank you.. Just to correct you though.. There ARE the same persons that are putting out 20 different versions (1 developer. releasing 20 different roms.) That was just the point i was making..
I do personally research before i ever flash a rom or anything..and trust me i donate!! LOL
Kris Nelson said:
Thank you.. Just to correct you though.. There ARE the same persons that are putting out 20 different versions (1 developer. releasing 20 different roms.) That was just the point i was making..
I do personally research before i ever flash a rom or anything..and trust me i donate!! LOL
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I see who you are talking about. If you read the OP, at the bottom, he gives thanks to the devs on these ROMs. I don't think he's a developer at all. At least, his profile doesn't say so. I think he just finds all these ROMs and posts links to them. I could be wrong, and I apologize if I am if that person is reading this thread, but I don't see where the OP of the 5+ ROM threads is the actual developer for them. It's almost like he does the "announcing" for the devs of those ROMs.
And since it does appear that you do not have to be a developer to post in the standard DEV forum, then that makes even more sense.
I do know that in another forum I frequented a lot, you were given developer status and only developers could create new threads in the DEV/ROM forum. That was to prevent a lot of "spam" postings of ROMs.
Makes me wonder if that's what is happening here.
iBolski said:
I see who you are talking about. If you read the OP, at the bottom, he gives thanks to the devs on these ROMs. I don't think he's a developer at all. At least, his profile doesn't say so. I think he just finds all these ROMs and posts links to them. I could be wrong, and I apologize if I am if that person is reading this thread, but I don't see where the OP of the 5+ ROM threads is the actual developer for them. It's almost like he does the "announcing" for the devs of those ROMs.
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I wish you were correct but nope, he is the builder and maintainer. Trust me many more than 5+ when you include other carriers as well.. But not just the one, others have started as well... It's very frustrating that after 1 week, several messages of a very specific problem (not mine just someone i was helping) on different sites where they are posted.. I have to track down someone that i know can help but has NOTHING to do with any of these roms...and gets zippy cash.. Though he should..lol
Anyway, i truly value great developers and have learned who to support and who not to. I like to help people so the developers can build awesome stuff and its my way of keeping the simple crap of your plate so you can do just that..but when i can't even find the answer, the developer should be available.
Just saw your edit.. Yes i think that is happening too. I was always under the assumption that builders/maintainers did so for the actual devise and carriers they use.. I guess that's no longer the case.
Oadam11 is a builder of various roms for our G3's from source repositories available for anyone to build from, and anyone to commit to. He may or may not be doing any commits/merge requests - and even if he did those contributions might not be accepted into the various G3 forks.
In any case, he might not be in a position to contribute to feature requests or bug fixes. He might not be running his own builds of all these roms, past checking to see if they will boot and more or less work.
Say Team Vanir does a fork of their work for the G3, an official one. Ok, then you would ask for support from members of Team Vanir, sure, though you might not get much, depending on a lot of factors (including your attitude...) Then consider the possibility that someone just builds something like Commotio from publicly available sources, with just enough tweaks from somewhere to get it to compile and run, unofficially, on one or more G3 variants. I suspect that is where oadam11 is coming from. He doesn't create the roms, he builds them for G3's. He watches the repositories for each rom he has built for us, and when he sees that rom's devs have checked in and merged useful updates, then he rebuilds for us when he has time. Builds take a while. Then he makes them available for us users to download and install them, after some degree of testing.
The point is that he is in no way responsible for supporting the builds he produces of these team's work. It would be impossible for him to anyway. I am sure he gets permission and some degree of cooperation from any team project he builds from, but he is NOT a team member, or major contributor, for all of them. He is a noble builder and distributor, and you should expect nothing more from him than What he is already providing.
If you want to get a problem or new feature dealt with on any given rom, you must deal with the team's source contributers by raising issues on their gerrit or maybe working on an outstanding and team-prioritized bug as a contributor.
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Thank you..you actually confirmed the point I was making. However, is the average person going to know all this? Of course not...should they do their research prior, of course but they don't... I see good teams being hurt by this as well.. Vanir just had an issue the other day.. Something is being lost in translation and by no means was i only referring to Adam.
I understand. It is interesting that in G+ just a little why ago someone asked David Kessler of Team Vanir who was their maintainer of the G3 Vanir and he replied that they don't have one.
There was also discussion about someone providing support, like answering questions. The idea of supporting a clueless user who had tried to flash TouchWiz onto a Vanir device, by beating the user over the head with an iPhone6+ was suggested. The devs have no patience with such users, generally.
That said, Holy Angel seems exceptional.
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The problem I have, is that when a person POSTS a Rom, and are the OP, they need to support what they post, and help the people posting questions in the thread, or BOW OUT!!! There are people posting and dumping... DONT Post a ROM if you're not willing or able to help the team you are Posting links to... Dont post it and then say "Any problems, contact THEM"
THAT PERSON mentioned, has a lot of them, all as OP, none supported other than.."New build up"
Raising the age limit for COPPA
The amount of entitlement exhibited in this thread is phenomenal. Yes, by all means don't use a build if the developer (who has actually done some REAL WORK) won't support you to your liking.
That will really teach those mean developers a lesson.
Don't forget to complain about the slow speeds of free downloads as well.
It's also a good idea to stop using a build if the developer won't add features you want, and soon, too.
DeanGibson said:
The amount of entitlement exhibited in this thread is phenomenal. Yes, by all means don't use a build if the developer (who has actually done some REAL WORK) won't support you to his/her liking.
That will really teach those mean developers a lesson.
Don't forget to complain about the slow speeds of free downloads as well.
It's also a good idea to stop using a build if the developer won't add features you want, and soon, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because you want a feature, doesn't mean it's a good feature to add. If you did that, you would end up with something that could eventually become impossible to maintain.
There are SO many bugs right now in the AOSP code that these devs are trying to fix to make it work on this phone. I would rather those get fixed first.
And, do you think you are the only one to ask for features?
I'm a developer, not for android, but I write code for a living. And what you are asking for is what we call "scope creep". We have to weed out the "must haves" with the "wants". Must haves are the things that they user must have in order to perform their job. This is usually adding functionality that isn't there currently that is needed to complete their job. The "wants" are "I would like to have the ability to clear out all background apps with a single button or swipe". That is NOT needed on this phone, but it's a nice "to have" option, but it doesn't affect the overall performance of the OS itself. Yes, you might say it does because you can clear out the background apps, but in reality, those apps are NOT running. I don't want to get into the specifics of android app management, but those apps you see in the "recent apps" history are NOT running. They are suspended and not taking up ANY CPU cycles, what-so-ever. If they happen to be, then it's a poorly written app, and it means the dev knowingly circumvented the Android OS app management process which is a big no-no. In that case, you should go back to the dev of the app and demand they fix that.
But, you are free not to install the ROM. That's fine and that's your choice, but it just irks me when I see people make complaints like this who probably have no idea what the software development life cycle is all about. To me, fixing bugs right now is the main issue, not adding pretty enhancements to the OS.
And who's to say they aren't working on what you ask, especially if you ask for fixes to major issues (such as battery life, radio, etc)?
Remember, these are UNOFFICIAL releases. They are based off of AOSP source which is pretty much device-agnostic except when it comes to Nexus devices since those are Google devices and therefore, the AOSP source is built for those type of devices.
Android is completely different from iOS. iOS is built for a set of hardware that doesn't have much variance like Android does. Hence, that is why Apple controls both the software AND the hardware of iPhones. It means less fragmentation across devices, but it also means, they decide what is best and you have no way of getting the source.
Google releases the source for Android so you CAN have these custom ROMs built. But, because one Android device has a different hardware configuration from another (CPU and GPU's being the biggest ones), then anything that can take advantage of the hardware architecture for a particular phone means having to change the AOSP source to use any of those "advantages" from that hardware. Which then means, that source no longer works on other phones, only for the phone they modified it for.
So, give the devs some slack, please. They are working hard on it and it's not one dev. If it were, then give the guy even MORE slack. The source for Android is over 12gb along. That is where it's not even compiled. And, compiling the android source generally takes about 90 minutes. So, each "fix" they do requires recompiling (90 minutes) and then testing.
Then, more than likely, the "fix" either didn't work or it possibly broke something else. That means, going back, determining the issue, fixing it, recompiling (wait another 90 minutes) and test again.
That all takes time, people. We developers are NOT magicians, even though it might seem like it.
So, try to imagine trying to fix all the big bugs that you know about, then have to come here, read through ALL the posts and then log those requests down, prioritize them based on all the other work you have, make those changes, recompile, test, etc. It's not a easy and it gets frustrating. But believe me, when we do fix an issue or are able to give the users what they want, we get an extreme amount of satisfaction knowing that we were able to satisfy the "customer".
So please, be careful what you state about devs. Those that do read here usually have thick skins, but complain enough, and they might just quit and then you have nothing.
I understand where people are coming from, but you've been blaming the devs when it's not their fault. Again, the android source is huge and it takes more than one person to work on it. Especially if they are responsible for more than one device. Some devs are working on source for more than just this phone. So, add that to what I already stated and hopefully, you can begin to understand what the devs are going through.

I plan on getting the V10 tomorrow

Well i planned on getting the V10 tomorrow and out of excitement i was going to look up how the dev was on xda. Disappointment it seems to be very little development. Is there a particular reason or should i get different phone?
I'm actually thinking the same exact thing. Plan on getting this phone this weekend with Jump on Demand from an S6
Development is down on all devices..and for many reasons:
1. Much greater security in Lollipop and Marshmallow
2. With all the customizations available and features included on new phones developers are losing the desire to make ROMs
Between layers and Xposed most users can make their phones do what they want
3. Manufacturers and Carriers locking bootloaders and making root very difficult and anything other than flavors of stock impossible
Security is the new thing that sells phones...these are people's personal assistants now with their entire lives and financial business on them.
With all the features included on new phones these days, including theme engines, for most people just having root is enough. And for some devices there is not even root.
Best advice? Look towards a Nexus device...unlockable, rootable and works on all carriers.
What kind of development do you want exactly? Between root and all the Xposed modules available, there really is no more need for custom ROMs. For the V10, P_Toti's G4TweaksBox takes care of 95% of things people would want to change, and you can accomplish the rest with Xposed.
when the phone stops doing what you want(i.e. when it's end of life and thus isn't supported by the oem) then is the time to worry about romming, but honestly, by the time a device is end of life, it's usually time to get a new phone anyways...android is to the point now that other than modifying things layout-wise, there's no reason to rom...as has been said numerously, between xposed and the way android is, and manufacturer skins as well, there's no point anymore

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