Today it is time to talk about the mobile operating system, which is so popular that some analysts even predict its eternal domination. The conversation will be rather short and computer specialists will not learn anything new for themselves. But this story may be interesting for those users who would like to know some details about the devices they work with every day. The modern market is full of tablets based on the Android operating system, so it is not possible to bring any "average" specifications. Tablet devices running Android are essentially specialized computers.
Most "android" tablets contain the following hardware components:
- Processor with limited performance to reduce heat generation
- Memory chips
- Drive chip and - in some models - slot for additional drive
- Accumulator battery
- Graphics processor
- Sound processor and speakers
- Sensors, including accelerometers, compass and light sensors
- GPS receiver
- Wi-Fi antenna and - in a number of models - cellular antenna
- Bluetooth chip
- FM tuner
- Camera (at least one)
In certain models of tablets based on the Android platform, some components from the above list may be missing.
All "android" tablets are controlled by one of the versions of the mobile operating system from Google. However, older versions may not support some of the modern applications.
All versions of the most popular mobile operating system have a common basis. We can imagine the Android operating system as a multi-layered structure. Computer engineers call this the software stack. The elements at the top of the stack are what the user sees during his interaction with the operating system. On the bottom of the stack are those parts of the operating system that interact directly with the hardware of the device.
So, at the lowest level are the hardware components themselves: processors, sensors, wires and printed circuit boards. The next layer is the core of the operating system. The kernel is sometimes also called embedded (or proprietary) software. The English definition of “firmware” is more known. This software controls the hardware resources of the device, controls them and their distribution.
This part of the operating system "translates" into the language of the hardware components those commands that the user gives through a convenient graphical interface. An example of the kernel for Android is the open source operating system Linux 2.6.
Android libraries are located above the operating system kernel. They are sets of instructions that a device follows in processing various types of data. An example is the orientation library in three-dimensional space. It contains all the instructions that the Android device requires in order to recognize changes in its position in space and respond to them.
At the same level of the software stack are the root libraries needed to support applications written in the Java language. Java is a programming language from Sun Microsystems. More recently, Java-enabled phones have been very common. Currently, they are increasingly being supplanted by smartphones.
Android virtual machine is located at the same level of the operating system software stack. This piece of software is creating a virtual operating environment, which is also otherwise called a virtual operating environment. A virtual machine simulates a physical device with a separate operating system. Google designed this layer so that each application running on the Android operating system functions as a separate process. Thus, if one of the running processes fails, the rest will remain unaffected. The virtual machine also plays the role of a memory manager.
The next level is the application framework. It is the basis for all applications "android" device. The application infrastructure is the link between applications and the rest of the operating system.
Google recommends that developers create applications that interact with this layer as part of the application programming interface (application API) developed by the search giant operating system. Developers need only to familiarize themselves with these API-related rules. They do not need to think about the technical characteristics of each "android" tablet.
The top level of the software stack contains the user interface and all applications of the android tablet. This part of the operating system is constantly seen by the user. But behind this attractive and colorful layer lies a lot of boring, and interesting only to specialists of the code.
Like any other operating system, it distributes the processor time and other hardware resources of the tablet.
Based on computer.howstuffworks.com
The article is based on materials .
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