| Skyler Kaufman | 991ae4d | 2011-04-07 12:30:41 -0700 | [diff] [blame^] | 1 | # Android Compatibility # |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Android's purpose is to establish an open platform for developers to build |
| 4 | innovative mobile apps. Three key components work together to realize this |
| 5 | platform. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | The Android Compatibility Program defines the technical details of Android |
| 8 | platform and provides tools used by OEMs to ensure that developers’ apps run |
| 9 | on a variety of devices. The Android SDK provides built-in tools that |
| 10 | Developers use to clearly state the device features their apps require. And |
| 11 | Android Market shows apps only to those devices that can properly run |
| 12 | them. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | These pages describe the Android Compatibility Program and how to get |
| 15 | access to compatibility information and tools. The latest version of the |
| 16 | Android source code and compatibility program is 2.3, which |
| 17 | corresponded to the Gingerbread branch. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ## Why build compatible Android devices? ## |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ### Users want a customizable device. ### |
| 22 | |
| 23 | A mobile phone is a highly personal, always-on, always-present gateway to |
| 24 | the Internet. We haven't met a user yet who didn't want to customize it by |
| 25 | extending its functionality. That's why Android was designed as a robust |
| 26 | platform for running after-market applications. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ### Developers outnumber us all. ### |
| 29 | |
| 30 | No device manufacturer can hope to write all the software that a person could |
| 31 | conceivably need. We need third-party developers to write the apps users want, |
| 32 | so the Android Open Source Project aims to make it as easy and open as |
| 33 | possible for developers to build apps. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | ### Everyone needs a common ecosystem. ### |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Every line of code developers write to work around a particular phone's bug |
| 38 | is a line of code that didn't add a new feature. The more compatible phones |
| 39 | there are, the more apps there will be. By building a fully compatible Android |
| 40 | device, you benefit from the huge pool of apps written for Android, while |
| 41 | increasing the incentive for developers to build more of those apps. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | ## Android compatibility is free, and it's easy. ## |
| 44 | |
| 45 | If you are building a mobile device, you can follow these steps to make |
| 46 | sure your device is compatible with Android. For more details about the |
| 47 | Android compatibility program in general, see [the program overview](overview.html). |
| 48 | |
| 49 | Building a compatible device is a three-step process: |
| 50 | |
| 51 | 1. *Obtain the Android software source code*. |
| 52 | This is [the source code for the Android platform](/source/index.html), that you port to your hardware. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | 1. *Comply with Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD)*. |
| 55 | The CDD enumerates the software and hardware requirements of a compatible Android device. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | 1. *Pass the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)*. |
| 58 | You can use the CTS (included in the Android source code) as an ongoing aid to compatibility during the development process. |
| 59 | |
| 60 | # Joining the Ecosystem # |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Once you've built a compatible device, you may wish to include Android |
| 63 | Market to provide your users access to the third-party app ecosystem. |
| 64 | Unfortunately, for a variety of legal and business reasons, we aren't able to |
| 65 | automatically license Android Market to all compatible devices. To inquire |
| 66 | about access about Android Market, you can [contact us](contact-us.html). |