Everything you need to know about Android’s Project Mainline - XDA Developers
Everything you need to know about Android's Project Mainline - XDA
Developers,
One of the biggest changes in Android in recent years that flew under the
radar, relatively speaking against its importance, was the introduction of
Project Mainline in Android 10. Google mandates the inclusion of specific
Mainline modules across Android releases, with Android 11 coming in with a
combined compulsory total of 25 Mainline modules. Here is an explanation on
what Project Mainline is and what it aims to solve, alongside a list of all
of Android's Project Mainline modules.
What is Project Mainline?
To properly understand Project Mainline, we will have to rewind a bit. If
you go back a few years, a lot of the conversation around Android updates
centered around the fragmentation problem. Fragmentation was one of the
biggest challenges for Google to solve on Android around the Ice Cream
Sandwich – Lollipop era. Even though Android as a platform received regular
updates across a largely-predictable pattern, these updates used to take a
very long time to reach the hands of final consumers, if at all. So while
Google was fixing critical bugs and security issues at the platform level,
the actual rollout of these changes left a lot to be desired. There
were/are a lot of middlemen (SoC vendor, OEMs, carriers, etc.) and a lot of
moving parts involved in delivering updates to your phone, and the
fragmentation problem did not appear like it would solve itself without
requiring some hard-hitting interventions.
[image: Project Treble]
[image: Project Treble]
One of the major efforts to address this problem came in the form of
Project Treble alongside Android 8.0 Oreo, which involved a major
rearchitecting of Android, separating the Android OS framework components
from the vendor HALs and Linux kernel. Project Treble, in essence,
modularized Android by separating the OS framework from the
device-specific, lower-level software. This way, device makers (OEMs) need
not wait for silicon manufacturers (SoC vendor) to update their vendor
implementation code, and OEMs could update the Android OS framework
independently. The end result is faster adoption of newer Android releases
from the OEM, as they no longer need to wait around for the middleman (SoC
vendor) to finish its job first before they can begin doing theirs.
While the Android update situation did not dramatically improve right off
the bat with Project Treble, it did largely enable broader OEM
participation in Android 10 and Android 11 betas as well as making it
easier for OEMs to update more of their devices on a quicker timeline.
Plus, the entire concept of the GSI (Generic System Image) has had a major
impact on aftermarket development on our forums.
*Developer boots Android 11 on 22 older devices with a Project Treble GSI*
Project Mainline extends the efforts of Project Treble. While Treble
reduced how dependent OEMs were on SoC vendors for every single OS update,
Mainline reduces how dependent Google is on OEMs for delivering security
updates to key OS components. Project Mainline extends the Treble
philosophy to more critical parts of the Android framework, removing OEMs
as the dependent middlemen from this equation. The purpose of Project
Mainline is for Google to wrest control of framework components and system
applications that are critical to security and maintaining development
consistency away from OEMs. Project Mainline is rightfully referred to as
the biggest change to Android since Project Treble.
For Project Mainline, Google makes use of Mainline modules which are
delivered through the Google Play Services framework and the Google Play
Store. Each Mainline module is delivered as either an APK file, an APEX
file, or as an APK-in-APEX. When a Mainline module is being updated, the
user sees a "Google Play System Update" (GPSU) notification on their
device. Effectively, to deliver updates to critical components, Google has
bypassed the need to wait for an OEM to roll out an update, choosing to do
the task itself.
As Google states on the Android website:
*Modular system components enable Google and Android partners to distribute
updates broadly, quickly, and seamlessly to end-user devices in a
non-intrusive manner. For example, the combination of media codec
fragmentation and critical bugs can dramatically slow app adoption and user
engagement. Frequent updates to media-related modules can reduce codec
fragmentation to make media app behavior more consistent across different
Android devices and fix critical bugs to build user trust.*
*Android 10 or higher converts selected system components into modules,
some of which use the APEX container format (introduced in Android 10) and
some of which use the APK format. The modular architecture enables system
components to be updated with critical bug fixes and other improvements as
needed, without affecting lower-level vendor implementations or
higher-level apps and services.*
As *Ars Technica* mentions:
*Project Mainline, AKA "Google Play System Updates," was introduced in
Android 10 as a major effort to make core system components of Android more
modular and updatable. Mainline introduced a new "APEX" filetype
specifically for system components, with the goal of shipping core Android
code through the Play Store as easily as you ship an app update.
Previously, Android's only shippable code block was the APK, a filetype
originally designed for third-party apps. This came with all sorts of
security restrictions and could only start up late in the boot-up process,
so APEX was created with more powerful system components in mind. APEXes
can only be created by Google or your device manufacturer, so they can be
noticeably more powerful and house critical boot-up components like the app
runtime.*
*Mainline isn't just a technical solution, it's also about making more
parts of Android centrally distributed by Google, which involves
negotiating with device manufacturers and getting them to all agree to ship
the same block of code. Mainline modules eventually become mandatory to
ship, so Mainline is actually a big collaboration with device manufacturers
to make sure a single ecosystem-wide module meets everyone's needs. Not
every Mainline module is an ultra-powerful APEX module—some are just APKs
that are now Google-distributed Android code.*
Project Mainline — Modules
With Android 10, Google mandated the inclusion of 13 specific Mainline
modules. With Android 11, the total number of mandatory modules is 25. Here
is the full list, alongside some key details:
Module Name Package Name Type Device
Upgraded to or Launched with
Android 11 Device
Launched with
Android 10 Device
Upgraded to
Android 10
adbd com.google.android.adbd APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Android Neural Network API Runtime com.google.android.neuralnetworks APEX
Must Unsupported Unsupported
Captive Portal Login com.google.android.captiveportallogin APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Cell Broadcast com.google.android.cellbroadcast APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Conscrypt com.google.android.conscrypt APEX Must Strongly Recommended
Optional
DNS Resolver com.google.android.resolv APEX Must Strongly Recommended
Optional
Documents UI com.google.android.documentsui APK Must Must Optional
ExtServices – APK com.google.android.ext.services APK Must Must Must
ExtServices – APEX com.google.android.extservices APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
IPsec/IKEv2 Library com.google.android.ipsec APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Media Codecs com.google.android.media.swcodec APEX Must Must Optional
Media Framework Components com.google.android.media APEX Must Must Optional
Media Provider com.google.android.mediaprovider APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Module Metadata com.google.android.modulemetadata APK Must Must Must
Network Stack Components com.google.android.networkstack APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Network Stack Permission Configuration
com.google.android.networkstack.permissionconfig APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Permission Controller – APK com.google.android.permissioncontroller APK Must
Must Must
Permission Controller – APEX com.google.android.permission APEX Must
Unsupported Unsupported
SDK Extensions com.google.android.sdkext APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Statsd com.google.android.os.statsd APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Telemetry Train Version Package com.google.mainline.telemetry APK Must
Unsupported Unsupported
Tethering com.google.android.tethering APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Time Zone Data com.google.android.tzdata APEX Must NOT Must Optional
Time Zone Data 2 com.google.android.tzdata2 APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Wi-Fi³ com.google.android.wifi APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
To provide some context to the columns above, the column titled "Device
Upgraded to or Launched with Android 11" includes details on whether the
module must be present (or must not be present, in case of Time Zone data
because of the inclusion of its alternative) on all devices that have
either been upgraded to Android 11, or are launching with Android 11 out of
the box. Similarly, devices launching with Android 10 are required to
include a few modules, are strongly recommended to include a few others,
and are unsupported by the rest. For devices that are upgraded to Android
10 (as opposed to launched with Android), the list of required modules is
shorter.
What does each Mainline module do?
Here's a brief explanation for each of the Mainline modules:
Adbd
The adbd module manages command-line adb and IDE debugging sessions.
Modularizing adbd allows Google to deliver performance improvements and bug
fixes quicker. This is crucial as some bugs in the past were related to
battery drain, and could cause devices to continue using 100% CPU until the
phone dies. So getting these fixes out is crucial for Google as adb is
widely used by app developers and OEMs for testing.
Android Neural Networks API Runtime
This is a library that sits between an app and backend drivers. The API in
turn is an Android C API for running computationally intensive machine
learning operations on mobile devices, and to enable hardware-accelerated
inference operations.
CellBroadcast
Cell Broadcast refers to emergency and non-emergency alerts (such as AMBER
alerts). This module is concerned with tasks around these alerts, and with
other ancillary functions such as SMS decoding and geofencing for wireless
emergency alerts.
Conscrypt
The Conscrypt module handles Android's TLS implementation and other
cryptographic functions such as key generators, cipers, and message
digests. Shipping this is as a module allows Google to accelerate security
improvements, without needing to rely on OTA updates.
DNS Resolver
As the name implies, the DNS resolver resolves DNS, i.e. it converts
human-readable URLs into IP addresses. The module contains the code that
implements the DNS stub resolver, and shipping this as a module lets Google
provide better user protection against DNS interception and configuration
update attacks.
Documents UI
Documents UI is the module responsible for controlling access to specific
files for components that handle document permissions. As Google states,
making storage access and permissions into a module increases privacy and
security for end users, while the runtime resource overlay (RRO) feature
allows OEMs to theme the experience (referring to the Files app) if they
need to. As a module, all Google-Android devices will ship with the same
Documents UI experience.
ExtServices
This module includes framework components for core OS functionality such as
notification ranking, autofill text-matching strategies, storage cache,
package watchdog, and other services.
IPsec/IKEv2 Library
This library module concerns itself with new and existing features around
Interworking Wireless LAN (IWLAN) and VPNs, such as negotiating security
parameters like keys, algorithms, and tunnel configurations. The idea with
modularizing these functions is to promote ecosystem consistency and
provide a way to deliver quick fixes for security and interoperability
issues.
Media, Media Codecs, Media Provider
These are three bifurcated modules, but they have functions that are
reliant on each other. These media modules handle media types and codes,
interact with the ExoPlayer, expose transport controls and playback
information to the framework, optimize indexed metadata, etc. Remember
Stagefright, the exploit that changed Android and brought about the very
concept of monthly security updates to the platform? That exploit relied on
vulnerabilities within the media playback library. So a modularization of
the media components allows Google to react quickly and widely in case
security bugs are found in this often targetted component.
Module Metadata
The function of this module is immediately clear from its name, although
its purpose isn't. Module Metadata module contains….metadata about the list
of modules on the device. And that's about it.
Network Stack Components, Network Stack Permission Configuration, Captive
Portal Login
The Network Stack Components module provides common IP services, network
connectivity monitoring, captive login portal detection. The Permission
Configuration module defines the permission that enables other modules to
perform network-related tasks. The Captive Portal Login module deals with
Captive Portals — web pages that are displayed when connected to certain
public Wi-Fi networks, where the user is asked to enter details to gain
Internet access.
Permission Controller
This module delivers updatable privacy policies and UI elements around
granting and managing permissions. If this sounds familiar to what Package
Installer does, that is because it is. Functions like runtime permissions
granting, management, and usage tracking were part of the Package Installer
app up till Android 9. In Android 10, the Package Installer app is split
into sections to enable the permissions logic to be updated. The Permission
Controller module is delivered as an APK file, and in Android 11, the
module can automatically revoke runtime permissions for apps that haven't
been used for an extended period of time.
SDK Extensions
This module is a little difficult to understand and consequently explain.
Every Android release is assigned an SDK level (usually +1 from its
predecessor). When an app targets a particular SDK, it is assumed that the
developer has taken into account the platform behavioral and API changes
that the Android release has brought along.
SDK Extensions module decides the "extension SDK" level of the device and
exposes APIs for apps to query the extension SDK level. That's about all
that the official documentation mentions. *ArsTechnica,* though, mentions
that this is likely a secondary API layer that will be shipped through the
Play Store.
Statsd, Telemetry Train Version Package
Statsd is responsible for collecting device metrics. The Telemetry Train
Version Package, on the other hand, does not contain active code or any
functionality of its own. It simply contains a version number for the
"Telemetry Train" which Google says is a set of metrics-related modules.
Based on the version number, Google Play displays the security patch
version to end users and figures out if updates are available for
metric-related modules.
Tethering
The Tethering module shares the device's Internet connection with other
connected client devices through Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, or Ethernet. The
module includes the tethering components and their dependencies. By using
this Tethering module, OEMs can rely on a single, standard reference
implementation and bring a consistent experience across devices.
Time Zone Data
The Time Zone Data module updates daylight saving time (DST) and time zones
on Android devices, standardizing both the data (which can and does change
rather frequently in response to religious, political, and geopolitical
reasons) and the update mechanism across the ecosystem. Android 8.1 and
Android 9 used an APK-based time zone data update mechanism, and Android 10
replaces it with an APEX-based module update mechanism. Google states that
AOSP continues to include the platform code necessary for APK-based
updates, so devices upgrading to Android 10 can still receive
partner-provided time zone data updates through the APK. However, Google
does warn that APK-based updates supersedes an APEX-based update.
Wi-Fi
This is the module for Wi-Fi functionality. End users can now get a
consistent Wi-Fi experience across Android devices, as well as fixes to
interoperability issues through module updates, app developers can get
reduced platform fragmentation, and OEMs can fulfill carrier requirements
while also reducing costs for individual customizations.
------------------------------
Hopefully, this article highlights just how important Project Mainline is
to Google's Android ecosystem.
XDA » Analysis » Everything you need to know about Android's Project
Mainline
,
Former NASA director meets with UL students on satellite project - KATC
Lafayette News,
A former UL grad and director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center met with UL
students to discuss one of their projects.
The university's CAPE team is designing and building a satellite that will
orbit earth.
Jay Honeycutt met with undergraduate and graduate engineering students on
UL Lafayette's CAPE team to discuss their work. NASA will launch the CAPE-3
satellite into space during an upcoming mission with students maintaining
contact through radio signals.
Honeycutt also offered advice about careers in aerospace.
As part of the project, CAPE team members will partner with six local high
schools.They will teach high school students how to build a satellite, UL
says.
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,
Students Introduce New Dating App in D.C. Area - ARLnow,
*Sponsored by **Monday Properties** and written by ARLnow, **Startup
Monday** is
a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other
local technology news. **Monday Properties** is proudly featuring
Shirlington Gateway. The new **2800 Shirlington** recently delivered a
**brand-new
lobby** and upgraded fitness center. Experience a prime location and enjoy
being steps from Shirlington Village. **Spec suites** with bright open
plans and modern finishes are under construction and will deliver soon!*
Finding a relationship during the pandemic has gotten a little easier.
George Mason University students Cameron Smith and Dennis Nayandin
developed and released a new dating app, SpecUdate, which is currently
focused on the D.C. area. Devised as "Online Dating's Real Game," the app
seeks to offer a new experience for users in "a fun way for people to break
the ice online in a way that hasn't been done before," according to Smith,
the CEO for the project.
Smith and Nayandin began work a year and a half ago on the project. The
computer science majors — who have completely self-funded the project —
went released the app on Friday, Oct. 8, with 1,500 subscribers and 100
active users. SpecUdate is open to anyone interested, but initially has
targeted GMU and other area universities.
"Once we've made a foothold in the DMV area and the Northern Virginia area,
we would like to expand to other areas," said Smith, an Arlington native
who attended Yorktown High School. "We want to be as big as we can, but we
also want people to share the idea, share the concept, buy into the app
itself."
The development and direction of the app came as a result of Smith's
personal experiences with online dating apps and after interviews with
college students, gauging their experiences with other services. After
gathering the insight of students, chief technology officer Nayandin fit
Smith's vision for the app.
"SpecUdate is designed to help find relationships and friendships, but the
way it does it is unique," Smith said. "Unlike other services, we decided
to go a route with our app where it's actually like a real game."
As a result of the feedback Smith and Nayandin received from their
interviews, the primary focal point of SpecUdate is how users interact and
develop connections. Before a connection can progress to a conversation,
the app requires users to participate in two social games: "two truths and
a lie" and a simple true or false question.
The games are meant to be icebreakers that can be used and referenced after
a connection has been made and a conversation has opened between users.
The app — which is compatible on iOS and Android devices — has also taken
on the challenge of being as inclusive as possible by taking advice from
contacts made through George Mason's LGBTQ office.
"One thing we had to conquer was 'okay, how can we make this inclusive for
everybody,'" Smith said. "I wanted everybody to be able to use the app, no
matter gender or orientation."
While COVID-19 has impacted the app and the marketing for it, Smith and
Nayandin have taken the challenge head on. The duo had 1,000 email signups
before the pandemic hit and George Mason went to virtual learning, and
they've added 500 emails as a result of social media marketing. The app has
also been adjusted to allow users to increase their search radius from a
maximum 100 miles to 300.
"SpecUdate was designed to be a fun icebreaker dating game where people can
actually enjoy playing the game more, as well as enjoy the process of
dating, which should be a relaxing, enjoyable process," Smith said.
"There's a big stigma these days surrounding online dating apps that
prevents a lot of people from even trying them just based off of what
they've heard from other people, that they're 'hook-up apps,' 'they're
boring.' We want to be different than that. We want to be the app that
people enjoy to play and have fun connecting on, and is less stressful."
*Photo via SpecUdate*
,
Developers,
One of the biggest changes in Android in recent years that flew under the
radar, relatively speaking against its importance, was the introduction of
Project Mainline in Android 10. Google mandates the inclusion of specific
Mainline modules across Android releases, with Android 11 coming in with a
combined compulsory total of 25 Mainline modules. Here is an explanation on
what Project Mainline is and what it aims to solve, alongside a list of all
of Android's Project Mainline modules.
What is Project Mainline?
To properly understand Project Mainline, we will have to rewind a bit. If
you go back a few years, a lot of the conversation around Android updates
centered around the fragmentation problem. Fragmentation was one of the
biggest challenges for Google to solve on Android around the Ice Cream
Sandwich – Lollipop era. Even though Android as a platform received regular
updates across a largely-predictable pattern, these updates used to take a
very long time to reach the hands of final consumers, if at all. So while
Google was fixing critical bugs and security issues at the platform level,
the actual rollout of these changes left a lot to be desired. There
were/are a lot of middlemen (SoC vendor, OEMs, carriers, etc.) and a lot of
moving parts involved in delivering updates to your phone, and the
fragmentation problem did not appear like it would solve itself without
requiring some hard-hitting interventions.
[image: Project Treble]
[image: Project Treble]
One of the major efforts to address this problem came in the form of
Project Treble alongside Android 8.0 Oreo, which involved a major
rearchitecting of Android, separating the Android OS framework components
from the vendor HALs and Linux kernel. Project Treble, in essence,
modularized Android by separating the OS framework from the
device-specific, lower-level software. This way, device makers (OEMs) need
not wait for silicon manufacturers (SoC vendor) to update their vendor
implementation code, and OEMs could update the Android OS framework
independently. The end result is faster adoption of newer Android releases
from the OEM, as they no longer need to wait around for the middleman (SoC
vendor) to finish its job first before they can begin doing theirs.
While the Android update situation did not dramatically improve right off
the bat with Project Treble, it did largely enable broader OEM
participation in Android 10 and Android 11 betas as well as making it
easier for OEMs to update more of their devices on a quicker timeline.
Plus, the entire concept of the GSI (Generic System Image) has had a major
impact on aftermarket development on our forums.
*Developer boots Android 11 on 22 older devices with a Project Treble GSI*
Project Mainline extends the efforts of Project Treble. While Treble
reduced how dependent OEMs were on SoC vendors for every single OS update,
Mainline reduces how dependent Google is on OEMs for delivering security
updates to key OS components. Project Mainline extends the Treble
philosophy to more critical parts of the Android framework, removing OEMs
as the dependent middlemen from this equation. The purpose of Project
Mainline is for Google to wrest control of framework components and system
applications that are critical to security and maintaining development
consistency away from OEMs. Project Mainline is rightfully referred to as
the biggest change to Android since Project Treble.
For Project Mainline, Google makes use of Mainline modules which are
delivered through the Google Play Services framework and the Google Play
Store. Each Mainline module is delivered as either an APK file, an APEX
file, or as an APK-in-APEX. When a Mainline module is being updated, the
user sees a "Google Play System Update" (GPSU) notification on their
device. Effectively, to deliver updates to critical components, Google has
bypassed the need to wait for an OEM to roll out an update, choosing to do
the task itself.
As Google states on the Android website:
*Modular system components enable Google and Android partners to distribute
updates broadly, quickly, and seamlessly to end-user devices in a
non-intrusive manner. For example, the combination of media codec
fragmentation and critical bugs can dramatically slow app adoption and user
engagement. Frequent updates to media-related modules can reduce codec
fragmentation to make media app behavior more consistent across different
Android devices and fix critical bugs to build user trust.*
*Android 10 or higher converts selected system components into modules,
some of which use the APEX container format (introduced in Android 10) and
some of which use the APK format. The modular architecture enables system
components to be updated with critical bug fixes and other improvements as
needed, without affecting lower-level vendor implementations or
higher-level apps and services.*
As *Ars Technica* mentions:
*Project Mainline, AKA "Google Play System Updates," was introduced in
Android 10 as a major effort to make core system components of Android more
modular and updatable. Mainline introduced a new "APEX" filetype
specifically for system components, with the goal of shipping core Android
code through the Play Store as easily as you ship an app update.
Previously, Android's only shippable code block was the APK, a filetype
originally designed for third-party apps. This came with all sorts of
security restrictions and could only start up late in the boot-up process,
so APEX was created with more powerful system components in mind. APEXes
can only be created by Google or your device manufacturer, so they can be
noticeably more powerful and house critical boot-up components like the app
runtime.*
*Mainline isn't just a technical solution, it's also about making more
parts of Android centrally distributed by Google, which involves
negotiating with device manufacturers and getting them to all agree to ship
the same block of code. Mainline modules eventually become mandatory to
ship, so Mainline is actually a big collaboration with device manufacturers
to make sure a single ecosystem-wide module meets everyone's needs. Not
every Mainline module is an ultra-powerful APEX module—some are just APKs
that are now Google-distributed Android code.*
Project Mainline — Modules
With Android 10, Google mandated the inclusion of 13 specific Mainline
modules. With Android 11, the total number of mandatory modules is 25. Here
is the full list, alongside some key details:
Module Name Package Name Type Device
Upgraded to or Launched with
Android 11 Device
Launched with
Android 10 Device
Upgraded to
Android 10
adbd com.google.android.adbd APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Android Neural Network API Runtime com.google.android.neuralnetworks APEX
Must Unsupported Unsupported
Captive Portal Login com.google.android.captiveportallogin APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Cell Broadcast com.google.android.cellbroadcast APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Conscrypt com.google.android.conscrypt APEX Must Strongly Recommended
Optional
DNS Resolver com.google.android.resolv APEX Must Strongly Recommended
Optional
Documents UI com.google.android.documentsui APK Must Must Optional
ExtServices – APK com.google.android.ext.services APK Must Must Must
ExtServices – APEX com.google.android.extservices APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
IPsec/IKEv2 Library com.google.android.ipsec APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Media Codecs com.google.android.media.swcodec APEX Must Must Optional
Media Framework Components com.google.android.media APEX Must Must Optional
Media Provider com.google.android.mediaprovider APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Module Metadata com.google.android.modulemetadata APK Must Must Must
Network Stack Components com.google.android.networkstack APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Network Stack Permission Configuration
com.google.android.networkstack.permissionconfig APK Must Strongly
Recommended Optional
Permission Controller – APK com.google.android.permissioncontroller APK Must
Must Must
Permission Controller – APEX com.google.android.permission APEX Must
Unsupported Unsupported
SDK Extensions com.google.android.sdkext APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Statsd com.google.android.os.statsd APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Telemetry Train Version Package com.google.mainline.telemetry APK Must
Unsupported Unsupported
Tethering com.google.android.tethering APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
Time Zone Data com.google.android.tzdata APEX Must NOT Must Optional
Time Zone Data 2 com.google.android.tzdata2 APEX Must Unsupported
Unsupported
Wi-Fi³ com.google.android.wifi APEX Must Unsupported Unsupported
To provide some context to the columns above, the column titled "Device
Upgraded to or Launched with Android 11" includes details on whether the
module must be present (or must not be present, in case of Time Zone data
because of the inclusion of its alternative) on all devices that have
either been upgraded to Android 11, or are launching with Android 11 out of
the box. Similarly, devices launching with Android 10 are required to
include a few modules, are strongly recommended to include a few others,
and are unsupported by the rest. For devices that are upgraded to Android
10 (as opposed to launched with Android), the list of required modules is
shorter.
What does each Mainline module do?
Here's a brief explanation for each of the Mainline modules:
Adbd
The adbd module manages command-line adb and IDE debugging sessions.
Modularizing adbd allows Google to deliver performance improvements and bug
fixes quicker. This is crucial as some bugs in the past were related to
battery drain, and could cause devices to continue using 100% CPU until the
phone dies. So getting these fixes out is crucial for Google as adb is
widely used by app developers and OEMs for testing.
Android Neural Networks API Runtime
This is a library that sits between an app and backend drivers. The API in
turn is an Android C API for running computationally intensive machine
learning operations on mobile devices, and to enable hardware-accelerated
inference operations.
CellBroadcast
Cell Broadcast refers to emergency and non-emergency alerts (such as AMBER
alerts). This module is concerned with tasks around these alerts, and with
other ancillary functions such as SMS decoding and geofencing for wireless
emergency alerts.
Conscrypt
The Conscrypt module handles Android's TLS implementation and other
cryptographic functions such as key generators, cipers, and message
digests. Shipping this is as a module allows Google to accelerate security
improvements, without needing to rely on OTA updates.
DNS Resolver
As the name implies, the DNS resolver resolves DNS, i.e. it converts
human-readable URLs into IP addresses. The module contains the code that
implements the DNS stub resolver, and shipping this as a module lets Google
provide better user protection against DNS interception and configuration
update attacks.
Documents UI
Documents UI is the module responsible for controlling access to specific
files for components that handle document permissions. As Google states,
making storage access and permissions into a module increases privacy and
security for end users, while the runtime resource overlay (RRO) feature
allows OEMs to theme the experience (referring to the Files app) if they
need to. As a module, all Google-Android devices will ship with the same
Documents UI experience.
ExtServices
This module includes framework components for core OS functionality such as
notification ranking, autofill text-matching strategies, storage cache,
package watchdog, and other services.
IPsec/IKEv2 Library
This library module concerns itself with new and existing features around
Interworking Wireless LAN (IWLAN) and VPNs, such as negotiating security
parameters like keys, algorithms, and tunnel configurations. The idea with
modularizing these functions is to promote ecosystem consistency and
provide a way to deliver quick fixes for security and interoperability
issues.
Media, Media Codecs, Media Provider
These are three bifurcated modules, but they have functions that are
reliant on each other. These media modules handle media types and codes,
interact with the ExoPlayer, expose transport controls and playback
information to the framework, optimize indexed metadata, etc. Remember
Stagefright, the exploit that changed Android and brought about the very
concept of monthly security updates to the platform? That exploit relied on
vulnerabilities within the media playback library. So a modularization of
the media components allows Google to react quickly and widely in case
security bugs are found in this often targetted component.
Module Metadata
The function of this module is immediately clear from its name, although
its purpose isn't. Module Metadata module contains….metadata about the list
of modules on the device. And that's about it.
Network Stack Components, Network Stack Permission Configuration, Captive
Portal Login
The Network Stack Components module provides common IP services, network
connectivity monitoring, captive login portal detection. The Permission
Configuration module defines the permission that enables other modules to
perform network-related tasks. The Captive Portal Login module deals with
Captive Portals — web pages that are displayed when connected to certain
public Wi-Fi networks, where the user is asked to enter details to gain
Internet access.
Permission Controller
This module delivers updatable privacy policies and UI elements around
granting and managing permissions. If this sounds familiar to what Package
Installer does, that is because it is. Functions like runtime permissions
granting, management, and usage tracking were part of the Package Installer
app up till Android 9. In Android 10, the Package Installer app is split
into sections to enable the permissions logic to be updated. The Permission
Controller module is delivered as an APK file, and in Android 11, the
module can automatically revoke runtime permissions for apps that haven't
been used for an extended period of time.
SDK Extensions
This module is a little difficult to understand and consequently explain.
Every Android release is assigned an SDK level (usually +1 from its
predecessor). When an app targets a particular SDK, it is assumed that the
developer has taken into account the platform behavioral and API changes
that the Android release has brought along.
SDK Extensions module decides the "extension SDK" level of the device and
exposes APIs for apps to query the extension SDK level. That's about all
that the official documentation mentions. *ArsTechnica,* though, mentions
that this is likely a secondary API layer that will be shipped through the
Play Store.
Statsd, Telemetry Train Version Package
Statsd is responsible for collecting device metrics. The Telemetry Train
Version Package, on the other hand, does not contain active code or any
functionality of its own. It simply contains a version number for the
"Telemetry Train" which Google says is a set of metrics-related modules.
Based on the version number, Google Play displays the security patch
version to end users and figures out if updates are available for
metric-related modules.
Tethering
The Tethering module shares the device's Internet connection with other
connected client devices through Wi-Fi, USB, Bluetooth, or Ethernet. The
module includes the tethering components and their dependencies. By using
this Tethering module, OEMs can rely on a single, standard reference
implementation and bring a consistent experience across devices.
Time Zone Data
The Time Zone Data module updates daylight saving time (DST) and time zones
on Android devices, standardizing both the data (which can and does change
rather frequently in response to religious, political, and geopolitical
reasons) and the update mechanism across the ecosystem. Android 8.1 and
Android 9 used an APK-based time zone data update mechanism, and Android 10
replaces it with an APEX-based module update mechanism. Google states that
AOSP continues to include the platform code necessary for APK-based
updates, so devices upgrading to Android 10 can still receive
partner-provided time zone data updates through the APK. However, Google
does warn that APK-based updates supersedes an APEX-based update.
Wi-Fi
This is the module for Wi-Fi functionality. End users can now get a
consistent Wi-Fi experience across Android devices, as well as fixes to
interoperability issues through module updates, app developers can get
reduced platform fragmentation, and OEMs can fulfill carrier requirements
while also reducing costs for individual customizations.
------------------------------
Hopefully, this article highlights just how important Project Mainline is
to Google's Android ecosystem.
XDA » Analysis » Everything you need to know about Android's Project
Mainline
,
Former NASA director meets with UL students on satellite project - KATC
Lafayette News,
A former UL grad and director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center met with UL
students to discuss one of their projects.
The university's CAPE team is designing and building a satellite that will
orbit earth.
Jay Honeycutt met with undergraduate and graduate engineering students on
UL Lafayette's CAPE team to discuss their work. NASA will launch the CAPE-3
satellite into space during an upcoming mission with students maintaining
contact through radio signals.
Honeycutt also offered advice about careers in aerospace.
As part of the project, CAPE team members will partner with six local high
schools.They will teach high school students how to build a satellite, UL
says.
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Students Introduce New Dating App in D.C. Area - ARLnow,
*Sponsored by **Monday Properties** and written by ARLnow, **Startup
Monday** is
a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other
local technology news. **Monday Properties** is proudly featuring
Shirlington Gateway. The new **2800 Shirlington** recently delivered a
**brand-new
lobby** and upgraded fitness center. Experience a prime location and enjoy
being steps from Shirlington Village. **Spec suites** with bright open
plans and modern finishes are under construction and will deliver soon!*
Finding a relationship during the pandemic has gotten a little easier.
George Mason University students Cameron Smith and Dennis Nayandin
developed and released a new dating app, SpecUdate, which is currently
focused on the D.C. area. Devised as "Online Dating's Real Game," the app
seeks to offer a new experience for users in "a fun way for people to break
the ice online in a way that hasn't been done before," according to Smith,
the CEO for the project.
Smith and Nayandin began work a year and a half ago on the project. The
computer science majors — who have completely self-funded the project —
went released the app on Friday, Oct. 8, with 1,500 subscribers and 100
active users. SpecUdate is open to anyone interested, but initially has
targeted GMU and other area universities.
"Once we've made a foothold in the DMV area and the Northern Virginia area,
we would like to expand to other areas," said Smith, an Arlington native
who attended Yorktown High School. "We want to be as big as we can, but we
also want people to share the idea, share the concept, buy into the app
itself."
The development and direction of the app came as a result of Smith's
personal experiences with online dating apps and after interviews with
college students, gauging their experiences with other services. After
gathering the insight of students, chief technology officer Nayandin fit
Smith's vision for the app.
"SpecUdate is designed to help find relationships and friendships, but the
way it does it is unique," Smith said. "Unlike other services, we decided
to go a route with our app where it's actually like a real game."
As a result of the feedback Smith and Nayandin received from their
interviews, the primary focal point of SpecUdate is how users interact and
develop connections. Before a connection can progress to a conversation,
the app requires users to participate in two social games: "two truths and
a lie" and a simple true or false question.
The games are meant to be icebreakers that can be used and referenced after
a connection has been made and a conversation has opened between users.
The app — which is compatible on iOS and Android devices — has also taken
on the challenge of being as inclusive as possible by taking advice from
contacts made through George Mason's LGBTQ office.
"One thing we had to conquer was 'okay, how can we make this inclusive for
everybody,'" Smith said. "I wanted everybody to be able to use the app, no
matter gender or orientation."
While COVID-19 has impacted the app and the marketing for it, Smith and
Nayandin have taken the challenge head on. The duo had 1,000 email signups
before the pandemic hit and George Mason went to virtual learning, and
they've added 500 emails as a result of social media marketing. The app has
also been adjusted to allow users to increase their search radius from a
maximum 100 miles to 300.
"SpecUdate was designed to be a fun icebreaker dating game where people can
actually enjoy playing the game more, as well as enjoy the process of
dating, which should be a relaxing, enjoyable process," Smith said.
"There's a big stigma these days surrounding online dating apps that
prevents a lot of people from even trying them just based off of what
they've heard from other people, that they're 'hook-up apps,' 'they're
boring.' We want to be different than that. We want to be the app that
people enjoy to play and have fun connecting on, and is less stressful."
*Photo via SpecUdate*
,
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