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Introduction

What This Book Covers

64 chapters organized bottom-to-top through the Android architecture:

Part Ch. Topics Status
I 0 Frontmatter REVIEWED
I 1 Introduction UNDER REVIEW
I 2 Source Code & Build System (Soong/Bazel/Kleaf) UNDER REVIEW
I 3 Feature Flags (aconfig) UNDER REVIEW
II 4 Boot and Init UNDER REVIEW
II 5 Kernel (GKI) UNDER REVIEW
II 6 System Properties UNDER REVIEW
III 7 Bionic & Linker UNDER REVIEW
III 8 Memory Management UNDER REVIEW
III 9 Binder IPC UNDER REVIEW
III 10 HAL (HIDL/AIDL) UNDER REVIEW
III 11 NDK UNDER REVIEW
IV 12 Native Services UNDER REVIEW
IV 13 Graphics & Render Pipeline (OpenGL ES/Vulkan/Skia/HWUI) UNDER REVIEW
IV 14 Animation System UNDER REVIEW
IV 15 Audio System (Spatial) UNDER REVIEW
IV 16 Media & Camera UNDER REVIEW
IV 17 Sensors UNDER REVIEW
V 18 ART Runtime UNDER REVIEW
V 19 Native Bridge (Berberis) UNDER REVIEW
VI 20 system_server UNDER REVIEW
VI 21 Intent System UNDER REVIEW
VI 22 Activity & Window Management UNDER REVIEW
VI 23 Window System UNDER REVIEW
VI 24 Display System UNDER REVIEW
VI 25 View System UNDER REVIEW
VII 26 Package Manager UNDER REVIEW
VII 27 Content Providers UNDER REVIEW
VII 28 Notifications UNDER REVIEW
VII 29 Power Management UNDER REVIEW
VII 30 Background Tasks UNDER REVIEW
VII 31 Multi-User UNDER REVIEW
VII 32 Account & Sync UNDER REVIEW
VII 33 Location UNDER REVIEW
VII 34 Storage UNDER REVIEW
VIII 35 Networking (VCN/Thread) UNDER REVIEW
VIII 36 Telephony (IMS) UNDER REVIEW
VIII 37 Bluetooth UNDER REVIEW
VIII 38 NFC UNDER REVIEW
VIII 39 USB & ADB UNDER REVIEW
IX 40 Security (TEE/Trusty) UNDER REVIEW
IX 41 Credential Manager UNDER REVIEW
IX 42 DRM UNDER REVIEW
X 43 Widgets & RemoteViews (RemoteCompose) UNDER REVIEW
X 44 WebView UNDER REVIEW
X 45 Accessibility UNDER REVIEW
X 46 Internationalization UNDER REVIEW
XI 47 SystemUI (Monet/Keyguard) UNDER REVIEW
XI 48 Launcher3 UNDER REVIEW
XI 49 Settings UNDER REVIEW
XII 50 AI & AppFunctions (Computer Control) UNDER REVIEW
XII 51 Companion & Virtual Devices UNDER REVIEW
XIII 52 Mainline Modules (APEX) UNDER REVIEW
XIII 53 OTA Updates UNDER REVIEW
XIII 54 Virtualization (pKVM/crosvm) UNDER REVIEW
XIII 55 Testing (CTS/VTS/Ravenwood) UNDER REVIEW
XIII 56 Debugging Tools (Perfetto) UNDER REVIEW
XIV 57 Architecture Support (ARM/x86/RISC-V) UNDER REVIEW
XIV 58 Emulator UNDER REVIEW
XIV 59 Device Policy UNDER REVIEW
XIV 60 Automotive/TV/Wear UNDER REVIEW
XIV 61 Print Services UNDER REVIEW
XIV 62 Camera2 Pipeline UNDER REVIEW
XV 63 Custom ROM Guide (step-by-step) UNDER REVIEW
App. A Key Files Reference UNDER REVIEW
App. B Glossary UNDER REVIEW

License

This book is licensed under the Apache License 2.0, matching the license of the Android Open Source Project it analyzes. See the LICENSE file for details.

How to Navigate

Use the sidebar to browse chapters organized bottom-to-top through the Android architecture. Each chapter is self-contained but builds on previous ones.

Architecture Overview

graph TB
    subgraph "Part I-III: Foundation"
        BUILD[Build System] --> BOOT[Boot/Init]
        BOOT --> KERNEL[Kernel]
        KERNEL --> BIONIC[Bionic/Linker]
        BIONIC --> BINDER[Binder IPC]
        BINDER --> HAL[HAL]
    end
    subgraph "Part IV-V: Services & Runtime"
        HAL --> NATIVE[Native Services]
        NATIVE --> ART[ART Runtime]
    end
    subgraph "Part VI-VII: Framework"
        ART --> SYSTEM[system_server]
        SYSTEM --> WMS[Window/Display]
        SYSTEM --> PMS[Package Manager]
        SYSTEM --> SERVICES[Framework Services]
    end
    subgraph "Part VIII-XII: Features"
        SERVICES --> CONNECTIVITY[Connectivity]
        SERVICES --> SECURITY[Security]
        SERVICES --> UI[UI Framework]
        SERVICES --> APPS[System Apps]
        SERVICES --> AI[AI/ML]
    end
    subgraph "Part XIII-XV: Platform"
        APPS --> INFRA[Infrastructure]
        INFRA --> DEVICES[Device Support]
        DEVICES --> ROM[Custom ROM]
    end

Support This Project

If this book has helped you understand AOSP, please consider showing your support:

  • Star the repository on GitHub so other developers can find it.
  • Report errors or suggest improvements via the issue tracker.
  • Share the book with colleagues and communities working on Android.

Stars and feedback are the main signal that the work is useful, and they motivate continued writing and review.