[gsoc15][idea-proposal] Port FreeBSD to a smartphone [needs-feedback]

Tue Mar 24 22:28:52 UTC 2015

Hi,

Someone had time to check my proposal? I will really appreciate some
feedback to my finish project proposal in gsoc page. I had published a more
detailed draft of my proposal here:

www.google-melange.com/gsoc/proposal/public/google/gsoc2015/gioyik/5629499534213120

Thanks a lot,
Gio

2015-03-22 21:48 GMT-05:00 Giovanny Andres Gongora Granada <gioyik at gmail.com
>:

> Hello,
>
> My name is Giovanny, I am an student from Universidad Cooperativa de
> Colombia planning to participate this year in the gsoc with FreeBSD
> organization. I reviewed the project list [1] for this year and I am
> interested in propose a project for Port FreeBSD to a smartphone (any maker
> and model) [2]. I will share with you my idea, I really appreciate have
> some feedback for my final proposal in the gsoc page.
>
> FreeBSD has a good compiling process for ARM [3] architecture and
> hardware. Taking advantage of this FreeBSD could run on a smartphone by
> three ways:
>
> 1. Using Android (based device and build process) we can compile FreeBSD
> kernel with support to the hardware of the device, then use a SD as system
> partition and configure it as a normal FreeBSD system. Flash an image
> generated for boot, equal to zImage in the block partition of the device
> using fastboot, so at reboot it will be running the FreeBSD system. After
> have the device running is more easy work on a display lib for the device.
> At the end if it can boot a device using this process and emulator could do
> this (changing the boot image for the one with FreeBSD) too, I use AOSP to
> define an environment and a set of tools to compile a light emulator with
> just the components necessaries to run the FreeBSD system. Mozilla does
> this to build Firefox OS with AOSP (devices and emulators) [4]. [This is
> not a image to chroot-jail]
>
> 2. Porting the idea of Gentoo for Android [5] to FreeBSD, this could be
> more difficult than expected due to port the concept of Gentoo RAP to
> FreeBSD could take a long time of research. Added to it, Gentoo RAP is made
> to work over Linux, so will take more time adapt the concept to FreeBSD and
> get something working with the low level layer of Android in the device. If
> by X reason the concept of Gentoo for Android it's done for FreeBSD could
> be possible think on port and use Webtop [6] as output for X servers how
> was done in Ubuntu for Android.
>
> 3. Running FreeBSD directly on an Android device using an application that
> emulates-wraps a terminal to boot a pre-compiled obb (just a tar package
> with a different name) package of a FreeBSD system. It will provide a shell
> to access all the programs in FreeBSD system but only text-mode will be
> supported. To interact from the smartphone with a graphical environment in
> FreeBSD there are to ways, first use other apps like a vnc client or embed
> a custom vnc/display client with own libs to display the enviroment. This
> method doesn't require root on the phone to run FreeBSD and the final apk
> of the application to run FreeBSD could be published in the Play store (if
> the idea is to publish it), so everyone could install it and run FreeBSD
> instantly after apk installation from Play Store.
>
> Three possible ways but personally I see 1 and 3 are the ones with best
> results. Number 1 is the way we more friendly for daily testing and with
> more percentage for future development. It will keep compatibility with
> latest changes in arm build process and after new CPU and boards support is
> added, will be easy build and test on more devices with this method. Number
> 3 it's more a user side and probably not offers a complete FreeBSD system
> experience as expected. I see that part of the gsoc is R&D, so I will be
> happy to research and develop until the end with all the ideas to get the
> best experience of FreeBSD on a phone.
>
> I know all this needs to be more detailed to get and idea if I am wrong or
> not, so feel free to quote where you think needs clarification in the
> process. Any feedback or opinions about this is really appreciated to my
> final proposal in the gsoc page.
>
> Thanks,
> Gio
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> * About me:
> I am studying at University Cooperativa de Colombia, my future degree will
> be Systems Engineer. I had been contributing to open source project since 4
> years ago, today I am an active Mozilla contributor [7], I work sending
> patches to the Firefox and Firefox OS code base [8]. Also I am part of the
> reviewer team at Firefox Marketplace (I review the apps that are sent to
> the Marketplace to be published) and I am a Mozilla Reps [9] too.
>
> I contribute to other open source projects too (Tor Project time ago as ES
> translator) different to Mozilla, you can see some of my contributions to
> other projects in my Github profile [10]. Most of my projects are open
> sourced in Github [11] and those projects are coded using different
> languages, some of them are C, Go, Python, Javascript, Ruby, Java and some
> shell scripts.
>
> * Previous experience with FreeBSD:
> I maintain some FreeBSD systems running in my University and a year ago I
> helped to run some FreeBSD servers with an IT team for a hosting provider
> company.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> [1]: https://wiki.freebsd.org/SummerOfCodeIdeas
> [2]:
> https://wiki.freebsd.org/SummerOfCodeIdeas#Port_FreeBSD_to_a_smartphone_.28any_maker_and_model.29
> [3]: http://www.freebsd.org/platforms/arm.html
> [4]: https://github.com/mozilla-b2g/B2G
> [5]: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Android
> [6]: http://sourceforge.net/motorola/motorola-webtop/home/Home/
> [7]: https://mozillians.org/en-US/u/gioyik/
> [8]: http://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/log?rev=gioyik%40gmail.com
> [9]: https://reps.mozilla.org/u/gioyik/
> [10]: https://github.com/Gioyik/
> [11]: https://github.com/Gioyik?tab=repositories
>

-- 
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