Hi Guys,
I thought I would get a thread going on this as I'm moving along (rather slowly -- I'll admit) on developing a new kernel for the Motorola QCOM phones. Obviously I will be testing it against the RAZR-HD, but if done correctly it should support RAZR-M, Atrix-HD and Photon Q.
Why a new kernel?
- For full Android 4.2.x support we need to migrate to a fully redeveloped video system which include vsync, fencing and other major changes from the 3.0 kernel. We have tried to backport some of these changes with some success but in the meantime it's causing other side effects. Along with the video driver updates are camera subsystem and many many other updates.
- For the future of the device we want to stay as close to Nexus type devices so that we can compile AOSP out of the box so to speak. N4 (Mako) uses a 3.4 kernel based on the same exact branch that I'm using from Code Aurora Forums (CAF).
What sources am I using?
I've started on the CAF base branch "jb_2.5" used to bring up the Nexus 4 device:
And the new kernel source is on github under a "razrqcom-dev-team" where Pinter and DHacker and others can all join in:
[NOTE] I have NOT posted my local changes to that kernel yet. It's the CAF sources + 2-3 commits I cherry-picked in, currently.
Current Status:
- [DONE] Add all new drivers from the Motorola JB kernel posted on Sourceforge.net
- [DONE] Patch existing code with Motorola specific changes (in a minimal sort of way -- only what is absolutely required here)
- [DONE] Fix compile errors
- [04/22 DONE] Push initial moto changes to github (over 2 pages of changes grouped by driver/section)
- [05/15 DONE] Boot testing using a recovery. Have to get far enough to where I'm seeing a ram-console "last_kmsg".
- [05/20 DONE] 1-by-1 debug each driver using last_kmsg to where we get a fully functioning recovery build. This includes using binaries like evtest to debug touchscreen events, and other sensors.
- [06/01 DONE] Change over to a full Android build using CM sources which are fully patched up against CAF's latest sources: includes new hardware drivers for video, camera, audio and others.
- [IN-PROGRESS] Debug the Android boot using strace and other binaries till it's solid enough to start using specific apps to play test and debug issues.
Once I get to a point where I can post a full dmesg, I'll add that to this post (for those that are curious).
Thanks for being patient.