| page.title=Developer Roadmap |
| @jd:body |
| <h1>Android Developer Roadmap</h1> |
| <h2>Introduction</h2> |
| <p> |
| On 12 November, 2007, we made available the first early look at the Android |
| SDK to give developers an opportunity to explore Android and build |
| applications for the Android Developer Challenge. That was followed by the |
| "M5" early look build. |
| </p><p> |
| Since then, we've been hard at work with our <a |
| href="http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/">partners</a> preparing the first |
| device for launch and finalizing the APIs and platform. The developer |
| feedback we received via the "early look" SDKs has been extremely valuable in |
| that process. This Roadmap outlines our plans for |
| the coming months, and lets you know what to expect as we near device |
| availability. |
| </p><p> |
| This is the top-level Roadmap. Individual components of Android (such as |
| the Dalvik virtual machine, the Android Developer Tools, and so on) will have |
| their own roadmaps, once we complete the source code release. Those roadmaps |
| will be linked to this page, as they become available. |
| </p> |
| <h2>Timeline</h2> |
| <p> |
| To orient yourself, consult this brief timeline. Read on for details on these |
| milestones. |
| </p><ul> |
| <li>12 November, 2007 - "Early Look" SDK released</li> |
| <li>January to August, 2008 - Android Developer Challenge I</li> |
| <li>18 August, 2008 - Android 0.9 SDK beta released</li> |
| <li>28 August, 2008 - Android Market introduced</li> |
| <li>23 September, 2008 - Android 1.0 SDK Release 1 available (first actual |
| 1.0-compatible SDK)</li> |
| <li>22 October, 2008 - Android 1.0 devices available at retail</li> |
| <li>Q4 2008 - Source code released</li> |
| <li>Q4 2008 - Key Announcement on Android Developer Challenge II</li> |
| </ul> |
| <h2>SDK Naming and Compatibility</h2> |
| <p> |
| Before we dive into details, here is a quick note on how we name SDKs. |
| </p><p> |
| We've adopted the following naming convention for Android SDKs: |
| "Android <Platform> SDK, release <Release>" |
| </p><p> |
| The downloadable file names for the SDKs will have this naming convention: |
| "android-sdk-<Host-OS>-<Platform>_r<Release>.zip" |
| </p><p> |
| The "<Platform>" refers to the version of the Android platform with which the |
| SDK is compatible. For instance, an SDK that can be used to build |
| applications that will run on Android 1.0 is considered to be an "Android 1.0 |
| SDK". However, since we do expect to release bug fixes and enhancements for |
| the various tools included in the SDK (such as the emulator, Eclipse plugin, |
| DDMS, and so on) we need to distinguish between releases of the SDK that can |
| be used to build for the same Android platform. That's what we will use the |
| "<Release>" for. |
| </p><p> |
| For example, the first SDK that is compatible with Android 1.0 is named |
| "Android 1.0 SDK, release 1", and will have file names such as |
| "android-sdk-windows-1.0_r1.zip". In the future, after we release a |
| hypothetical Android 2.0 platform version, you might see an SDK named "Android |
| 2.0 SDK, release 3", which would refer to the third released SDK compatible |
| with Android 2.0. |
| </p> |
| <h2>Details of Key Events</h2> |
| <h3>Ongoing SDK Releases</h3> |
| <p> |
| The SDK consists of two general pieces: a version of the Android platform |
| itself (that runs in the emulator), and the accompanying developer tools that |
| surround it. This means that when we ship SDK releases, all releases within a |
| given series (such as all the SDKs for Android 1.0) will consist of |
| essentially the same platform image, but with different, updated tools. |
| </p><p> |
| In August, we released Android 0.9 SDK, beta. The Android |
| platform image was not quite 1.0-final (which is why we identified it as 0.9), |
| and the tools were not yet final (which is why we referred to it as |
| beta.) </p> |
| |
| <p>For the SDK that includes the Android 1.0 platform and updated tools, |
| we've dropped the beta labeling and released "Android 1.0 SDK, release |
| 1". Applications developed on this SDK version will be compatible with |
| devices that run the Android 1.0 platform.</p> |
| |
| <h3>Device Availability</h3> |
| <p>The first Android-powered device, the T-Mobile G1, was announced on 23 September, |
| 2008. To learn more about the T-Mobile G1, see the <a href="http://www.t-mobileg1.com">T-Mobile G1 site</a>. |
| |
| <p>Other partners will be releasing Android-powered devices in the future. |
| We will update this space with more specific information about each device |
| release, as it becomes |
| available.</p> |
| |
| <h3>Source Code Release</h3> |
| <p> |
| We are currently in the process of preparing for the release of the source |
| code. This includes a few key tasks: |
| </p><ul> |
| <li>Selection of hosting infrastructure</li> |
| <li>Updating the build infrastructure for general use</li> |
| <li>Creation of a project governance framework</li> |
| <li>Final examination of source code for release approval</li> |
| <li>Physical upload and release packaging of the source code</li> |
| </ul><p> |
| This work is already under way, but since Android contains some 8 million |
| lines of code, it's a lengthy process. We expect this process to conclude |
| (and source code to be released) in Q4 of 2008. |
| </p> |
| <h3>Android Developer Challenge II</h3> |
| <p> |
| When Android was announced on 5 November, 2007, Google also announced a $10 |
| million <a href="{@docRoot}adc.html">Android Developer Challenge</a>, split into two separate $5 million |
| events. The first Android Developer Challenge ran from January 2008 through |
| August 2008, and was intended to give developers an opportunity to explore |
| their ideas using the early look SDK and build prototype applications -- to |
| "get in on the ground floor." The second Challenge will give developers a |
| chance to build polished applications once hardware is available. |
| </p><p> |
| We'll be making some interesting announcements regarding ADC II soon, in Q3 or |
| Q4. |
| </p> |