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 * '''Confirmed Mentor''': Hans-Christoph Steiner
* '''How to contact the mentor:''' hans@at.or.at and @_hc on IRC
 * '''Confirmed Mentor''': Hans-Christoph Steiner (UTC +2), hans@at.or.at and @_hc on IRC
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   * Kai-Chung Yan, seamlik@debian.org and @seamlik on IRC
   * Chirayu Desai, chirayudesai1@gmail.com and @cdesai on IRC
   * Kai-Chung Yan (UTC +2), seamlik@debian.org and @seamlik on IRC
   * Chirayu Desai (UTC +5:30), chirayudesai1@gmail.com and @cdesai on IRC
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 * Improve DebianPackage:android-sdk-helper

Android SDK Tools in Debian

Description of the project: The Android platform is free software, including the tools used for developing apps for Android. Debian-derivatives are already a preferred platform for Android developers, and stretch already includes the core Android SDK tools, enough to build some apps. The Debian Android Tools team is working towards the goal of having the entire Android toolchain and SDK in Debian. That means Android apps can be developed using only free software from easy-to-use packages. In combination with Replicant, this will make the most popular operating system in the world, Android, into a 100% Free Software platform. This project is in conjunction with the Debian Java team, since many tools like gradle are for any Java software.

  • Confirmed Mentor: Hans-Christoph Steiner (UTC +2), hans@at.or.at and @_hc on IRC

  • Confirmed co-mentors:

  • Deliverables of the project: The deliverables of this project will mostly be finished packages submitted to Debian sid, both for new packages and updated packages. Whenever possible, we should also try to get patches submitted and merged upstream in the Android sources.

  • Desirable skills: Building and packaging C/C++ and Java code, an understanding of git. Android development is preferable.

  • What the intern will learn: Students will learn to figure out large scale projects like Android, and how to organize their own work within such projects. They will also learn about building and packaging C and Java, as well as some of the guts of Android itself.

  • Application tasks: (simple tasks that could show your determination):

    • Find out what new/missing components (D8/R8? hidl-gen? sdkmanager?) and the location of their source code

    • build an Android app using only apt install android-sdk android-sdk-platform-23 android-sdk-helper, F-Droid is a good app to try

    • backport android-sdk-helper to stretch-backports

    • test Android Tools bash completion (e.g. for adb, fastboot, etc), file bugs if it doesn't work properly

    • anything else you think suitable.
  • Related projects: Replicant, the 100% free software Android ROM, uses our packages to provide a 100% free software Android SDK.

There are many chunks of work to be done, sorted in priority:

  • Package Kotlin, which is heavily used by Gradle and the SDK itself
  • Package the latest Android Target Platform Framework (WIP)

  • Finish packaging all of the core development tools (Install android-sdk and compare /usr/lib/android-sdk with the one downloaded from Google)

  • Update android-tools and relevant pkg-java packages to the latest upstream version

  • Improve android-sdk-helper

  • Update gradle to 5.x, which is the official build system for Android apps

  • Make all Android Tools packages build reproducibly
  • Add Continuous Integration tests

  • Improve package build systems to be more tightly integrated with upstream build systems
  • Package and improve related tools, like apktool, androguard, fdroidserver, drozer, libscout, qark, OWASP Dependency Check, etc.
  • Package new parts of the Android upstream source, including the NDK, emulators, Android Studio, etc.

Since this project is a large one, multiple mentors and students could work on it simultaneously. You can find relevant documentation in READMEs in each git repo and source package. There is also this wiki section: AndroidTools

There is also a blog post about contributing to this project here

The Debian Android Tools Team works with git and git-buildpackage: PackagingWithGit