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09/24/2012, 11:31 AM
#2
Here is the Question:
Can OpenWebOS beta -- which runs on desktop ubuntu 12 (x86 not x64) be compiled to run on ubuntu 12 for ARM?
Additional info on my Qualifications before we proceed:
Worked for Corel Supporting Wordperfect Suite product "CorelCentral" which used palmConduit to sync PIM data with PalmPilot -- did extensive work to get this functioning for training and testing with a palm pilot emulator.
Owner of: Handspring Visor Deluxe, Treo 600, Centro, Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, Palm Pre2
When Power button stopped working on my Pre 2, I knew there was only so many times the keyboard slider would allow me to get the device to wake.... and power on via plugging in power cable was going to eventually take its toll on the usb port.....
The Device I'm using to try to answer this question is the HTC EVO 4G LTE.
I'm posting this here for posterity and so any who have the WebOS Love still can see it --- note alot of this is going to be linux/android/ technical.... so I appologize for that but it is a work in process.... Not reinventing the wheel here... just trying to answer that question -- and if the answer is good, others will no doubt want to do it too!
Here is how I'm working on trying to answer that question:
--Back to the question: Open WebOS on ubuntu 12 ARM?
Q1. Need ubuntu 12 ARM on a device.
A1. linuxonandroid has a ready image that will give me a 3.5GB ubuntu 12 ARM installation with aprox 750+ MB free...
Q2. Requirements for compiling Open WebOS on ubuntu 12 desktop state 4GB space free needed.....
SO... Looking at Specs of HTC EVO 4G LTE:
Internal "Main memory" is 16GB:
that is partitioned off...aprox 2GB main "os" space, 10GB of internal "Virtual" sdcard, then my additional 16GB class 10 sdcard shows up as external-sd.
AND... linuxonandroid ubuntu 12 ARM image is 3.5GB... but only aprox 750+MB is free... so:
Q2a. How do I get additional space in the ubuntu 12 ARM installation running on my HTC EVO 4G LTE?
GIVEN: I'm running CM10 JellyBean on my HTC EVO 4G LTE rather than stock.... and sdcards, virtual or otherwise on android are typically formatted vfat (fat32) so that when you plug them in to USB they can mount for file transfer, etc.
GIVEN: vfat(fat32) allows max file size of around 4GB.... I'd prefer to have a little more breathing space if possible
GIVEN: I've had or worked on older devices with android (Samsung Moment, LG Optimus S, Samsung Epic 4G, HTC EVO 4g, HP Touchpad) I recall some one of those allowed for ext2/3/4 on the sdcard
TRIED: Back up "virtual sdcard" (internal to phone) and changing that to ext4
RESULTS: While I can get it to go to ext4, it has to be manually mounted after each boot, AND some android programs NEED the sdcard to be vfat to run properly, AND plugging USB in will not allow access to this space in windows (might work in linux, didn't try)
CONCLUSION: Might work, but to complicated for many people if trying to reproduce this process and still be able to use the device as a daily driver phone...
GIVEN: Alternative suggested to me by user om4 to repartition the internal space on the phone leaving a smaller internal virtual sdcard that was vfat, and create an additonal partition and format that as ext4, and use that for storing .img file or install ubuntu directly to that partition
INITIAL RESPONSE: Super complicated --- might work, hard to duplicate, too easy for a noob to brick a device this way.... and I learned a moral lesson from WebOS Internal GURU Rod Whitby when someone bricked a pre and returned it to store under warranty, resulting in restrictions on releases of certain webos patches: WHAT I DO AFFECTS PEOPLE -- I don't want Open WebOS to be looked at in a bad light by Sprint, or any other carrier, because some noob tried a complicated method I suggested, bricked their device, and tried to pass it off as a defective device under warranty back to Sprint...... THIS HAS to be less complicated, and easy to reproduce. (Thanks Rod for your patience and wisdom)
A2a: Try adding additional space to ubuntu distro by adding an additional "virtual" drive
GIVEN: *My* interpretation/understanding of HOW linuxonandroid gets ubuntu 12 to work on Android devices:
linuxonandroid dev provides "ubuntu.img" which is a pre-compiled ARM("binary" if you will) version of ubuntu 12, that is mounted as a "loop" device (check out wikipedia for more info -- basically appears as a "virtual hard drive" to android's version of linux.) and it mounts that and then uses chroot (again check wikipedia for more info) to make andoid boot this.
After all that.... you fire up a vnc viewer right on the phone, and you are able to access ubuntu running on your ARM baised smart phone.
IDEA: Looking at how linuxonandroid boot script runs, Can I make a second loop device (virtual) and mount a second .img file to that.... and THEN mount that to a directory in ubuntu 12, and use that as space to compile WebOS
RESULTS: Initially, Yes.... see more info below...
PROCEDURE: To get two images mounted in ubuntu 12 ARM using linuxonandroid....
GIVEN: I haven't done all the research... but I'm fairly certain you can create .img files using dd somehow, but then you have to mount, partition, format, etc.... COMPLICATED...
TRY: Take a clean copy of the ubuntu.img that ships with linuxonandroid, rename it, and modify the boot script to create an additional loop device, mount the second image on that boot device, then mount that to an additional mount point in ubuntu (in my example I'm mounting it to /webOS)
RESULTS: Got this to work.... but now I have 2 copies of everything....
WORKING ON NEXT: do the research and document the way to reformat/erase/wipe the contents of the second loop device
WHY A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS A DANGEROUS THING: I tried deleting one of the directories on the mount... and it appears to have links to real directories on my actual device.... deleting the contents, appears to delete the contents of the actual device.... need to work on finding the command line tool I can use to reformat the device (removing the links to directories, without removing the actual directories they are linked to)
DISCLAIMER: I know much about a lot of these things, but I have learned from the open source community to ALWAYS exercise caution when doing things like this. While this may all seem like a simple exercise to some, and like complete giberish to others, I STRESS and Encourage that anyone doing ANYthing like this EXERCISE EXTREME caution, AND -- If you brick a device in the process, ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENSES of your actions..... IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD a replacement device.... (nor afford the inconvienience of being without your daily driver device).... DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME kids.
FINALLY: Yes I know this is a lot of info, and this is by no means a complete process or guide... I just wanted this idea out there, so other people know its being tried, and for discussion.... Some parts of the forum have been like a Tomb... I'm using my crazy idea to liven my part of the Tomb up 
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Originally Posted by bearda
