Embedded Systems White Paper

GETTING STARTED WITH ANDROID DEVELOPMENT

FOR EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

September 2009

ABSTRACT
Android is an open source platform built by Google that includes an operating system, middleware,
and applications for the development of devices employing wireless communications. This paper takes
a look at the design of Android, how it works, and how it may be deployed to accelerate the development
of a connected device.

Along with basic guidelines to getting started with Android, the Android SDK, its available tools and
resources are reviewed and some consideration is given to applications for Android beyond
conventional mobile handsets such as medical devices, consumer electronics and military/
aerospace systems.

Author:
Colin Walls
Embedded Software Technologist
Embedded Systems Division
colin_walls@mentor.com

Mentor Graphics Corporation

8005 SW Boeckman Road
Wilsonville, OR 97070 USA

www.mentor.com/embedded
WHAT IS ANDROID?
It is easy to think of Android as being yet another operating system for high-end mobile phones. It is really
a software platform, rather than just an OS, that has the potential to be utilized in a much wider range
of devices. In practical terms, Android is an application framework on top of Linux, which facilitates
its rapid deployment in many domains.

A key to its likely success is licensing. Android is open source and a majority of the source is licensed
under Apache2, allowing adopters to add additional proprietary value in the Android source without source
distribution requirements.

Another way to appreciate the significance of Android is to take a historical perspective. In the early days
of PCs, the operating system was DOS. This presented some interesting challenges to application developers,
as DOS provided a minimal number of services. The result was that every application needed a complete
framework to provide the full functionality that was required. For example, a word processing program
would need to have a driver for every imaginable printer. This was a major headache for developers and a
serious ongoing maintenance problem. The solution came in the early 1990s with the release of Windows.
Or, rather, the development of Windows 3.0. Although we think of Windows as being primarily a GUI, it
really is much more than that. Nowadays, a word processor just talks to a logical printer. The manufacturer
of the printer hardware simply needs to provide a Windows driver and everything works together properly.

In some respects, a similar situation exists today when developers want to deploy Linux for embedded
applications. Android is the enabler for a broad application developer base, a complete stack on top of the
Linux kernel.

ANDROID HISTORY
Although Android is quite new technology, it does have a history. It really began in 2005 when Google acquired
Android Inc., which started rumors that Google had interests in mobile telephony. The Android product was
announced, along with the formation of the Open Handset Alliance in 2007. The following year saw the first
Android phone launched and the declaration of Android code as being open source.

Even though Android was created for handsets, many developers began to see a great opportunity to develop
other kinds of innovative devices on the Android platform. Significant optimizations and additions would
be required, however, to optimize Android for other connected devices.

Late in 2008, a company called Embedded Alley Solutions of San Jose, California, took on the challenge
of moving Android beyond phones.

In July 2009, Mentor Graphics Corporation acquired Embedded Alley. Another significant step along the
Android history timeline.

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ANDROID ARCHITECTURE
An Android system is a stack of software components. At the bottom of the stack is Linux – Linux 2.6 with
approximately 115 patches. This provides basic system functionality like process and memory management and
security. Also, the kernel handles all the things that Linux is really good at such as networking and a vast array
of device drivers, which take the pain out of interfacing to peripheral hardware.

Figure 1: High-level look at the Android system architecture.

On top of Linux is a set of libraries including bionic (the Google libc), media support for audio
and video, graphics and a lightweight database, which is a useful repository for storage and
sharing of application data.

A key component of an Android system is the runtime – the Dalvik VM. This is not strictly a Java virtual
machine. It was designed specifically for Android and is optimized in two key ways. It is designed to
be instantiated multiple times – each application has its own private copy running in a Linux process. It is
also designed to be very memory efficient, being register based (instead of being stack based like most
Java VMs) and using its own bytecode implementation. The Dalvik VM makes full use of Linux for
memory management and multi-threading, which is intrinsic in the Java language.

It is important to appreciate that Android is not a Java virtual machine, but does use the Java language.

The Application Framework provides many higher-level services to applications in the form of Java classes.
This will vary in its facilities from one implementation to another.

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A key Android capability is the sharing of functionality. Every application can export functionality for use by
other applications in the system, thus promoting straightforward software re-use and a consistent user experience.
At the top of the Android software stack are applications. A number are supplied as standard. As mentioned,
each application may also expose some of its functionality for use by others. For example, the message sending
capability of the SMS application can be used by another application to send text messages.

The supplied applications are not particularly “special” – all Android applications have the same status in
a given system.

Although there are other options, Android applications are commonly implemented in Java utilizing the Dalvik
VM. Not only is the Dalvik highly efficient, but it also accommodates interoperability which results in
application portability. While all of these attributes are attractive, many developers will also want their C/C++
applications to run on an Android-based device.

APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
- DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
The standard Android development environment from Google is, as you might expect, Eclipse based, using a
plug-in to provide the necessary facilities. You need to define your target configuration by specifying an Android
Virtual Device. You can then execute code on either the host-based emulator or a real device, which is normally
connected via USB.

This environment only supports Android development on ARM-based target devices. Recently, however,
Mentor Graphics and others have ported Android to other processor architectures like MIPS.

- PROGRAMMING MODEL
An Android application consists of a number of resources which are bundled into an archive – an Android
package. Programs are generally written in Java, built using the standard Java tools, and then the output file
is processed to generate specific code for the Dalvik VM. Each application runs in its own Linux process –
an instantiation of the Dalvik VM – which protects its code and data from other applications. Of course, there are
mechanisms for applications to transfer, exchange, and share data.

An application is a set of components which are instantiated and run as required. There is not really an
entry point or main() function.

There are four types of application component: activities, services, broadcast receivers, and content providers.
• An Activity is a functional unit of the application, which may be invoked by another activity. It has
a user interface of some form. An application may incorporate a number of activities. One activity
may be nominated as the default which means that it may be directly executed by the user.

• A Service is similar to an activity, except that it runs in the background without a UI. An example of a
service might be a media player that plays music while the user performs other tasks.

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• Broadcast Receivers simply respond to broadcast messages from other applications or from the system.
For example, it may be useful for the application to know when a picture has been taken. This is the kind
of event that may result in a broadcast message.

• A Content Provider supplies data from one application to others on request. Such requests are handled by
the methods of the ContentResolver class. The data may be stored in the file system, the database or
somewhere else entirely.

When you develop an Android application, you need to describe it to the system and this is achieved by means
of a manifest file. This is an XML file called AndroidManifest.xml which is stored in the root folder of
the application’s file system.

This outline example of a manifest file includes the definition of a single activity called MyActivity:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<manifest . . . >
<application . . . >
<activity android:name="com.example.project.MyActivity" ... >
</activity>
. . .
</application>
</manifest>

When an Android application wishes to obtain some functionality from another application or from the system,
it can issue an Intent. This is an asynchronous message that is used to activate an activity, service, or broadcast
receiver. For an activity or service, the specific action and location of data is included.

Although an intent may include the specific activity required, it can be more generalized and the request
resolved by the system. This mechanism is governed by Intent Filters. These filters specify what kind of intents
the activities and services of an application can handle. They are described in the manifest file, thus:

<application . . . >
<activity android:name="com.example.project.MyActivity" ... >
<intent-filter . . . >
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"
/>
</intent-filter>
</activity>
. . .
</application>

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ANDROID DEVELOPMENT
Until very recently, Android deployment has been focused on mobile handsets. This was Google’s target
market and the available software IP and development tools are designed and configured with this in mind.
The potential for Android is enormous in other market areas – anywhere that sophisticated software, including
connectivity and a user interface, encapsulates the functionality of a device. Consumer, telecom, automotive,
medical, and home applications are all attractive candidates for the deployment of Android. However, there
are challenges in moving away from mobile handsets.

Having a cool solution is great, but it is not useful unless it solves a real world problem. The challenge
with electronic devices going forward is connectivity and interoperability. Android is well placed to address
these issues.

The Mentor Graphics approach to enabling Android to reach a wider market is to bring three key attributes
to bear on the issue: the supply of development tools, software IP, and professional services. The goal is to
take Android and create specific editions, tailored to various markets.

MENTOR GRAPHICS SUPPORT FOR ANDROID

In July 2009, Mentor Graphics announced the acquisition of Embedded Alley. This company, founded by
specialists in open software, brings extensive expertise in embedded Linux and Android, which
complements Mentor’s existing competency in hard real time operating systems. Underpinning the
Embedded Alley approach is a clear commitment to focus on the needs of the customer, enabling them to
leverage open software to address their specific requirements.

As mentioned previously, Android has been successfully deployed in the mobile handset market. To expand into
other markets, investment is required in order to port Android to other CPUs and provide drivers etc. for
new peripheral devices. This is where Mentor Graphics comes in.

Android lends itself to some specific applications:

▪▪ Handheld media players are not too far removed from mobile handsets and are well suited to Android.

▪▪ Now that digital video is well established around the world and with Internet connectivity becoming common,
Android offers a good mix of capabilities for such applications.

▪▪ In cars and other road vehicles, Android seems logical for infotainment devices, such as satellite navigation.
But it could also find a place in smart instrumentation.

▪▪ Medical devices are demanding applications, where ease of use and connectivity are key requirements. Again
Android can score here.

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▪▪ Around the home, new electronic devices are appearing regularly and, again, connectivity and a good user
interface are top priorities.

▪▪ The computing power used in industrial applications is increasing all the time. Operator safety is critical,
which demands an intuitive user interface. And, once again, connectivity is essential.

Figure 2: A more detailed look at the Android development system.

With reference to the Android system diagram above, the requirements for specific attention can be identified:

▪▪ It is necessary to prepare Linux for a particular target. It also needs to be made Android-ready, which
necessitates the careful application of numerous patches. Industry-specific drivers are also a likely
requirement.
▪▪ The Dalvik VM needs to be ported to new CPUs and SoCs. It must be carefully tuned, as it is critical
to application performance.
▪▪ The libraries need to be ported and optimized. Also, additional components will be needed for specific
industries. Likewise the application framework.
▪▪ And last, developers need to be supported with writing new applications in Java for Android, and to
allow new or existing C/C++ applications to run on their new Android-based device.
The Development System for Android-based Devices from Mentor Graphics is designed to address these goals.
It includes the latest runtime and libraries optimized for specific CPUs. There is support for the development of

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custom board ports and drivers, along with customization of the application framework and the emulator.
The development system is Eclipse based and it is a core philosophy to align with a customer’s working
practices, not to change them unnecessarily. The goal is to create reproducible, high quality code to deploy
Android into multiple application domains.

Additional support is available in the form of professional services, leveraging Mentor’s Android expertise and
experience to enable customers to get to market faster. When required, Mentor can support device developers
throughout their entire product life cycle, from product requirements all the way through deployment, with
complete Android services, including:

▪▪ Custom board ports

▪▪ Extending I/O support
▪▪ Integration of product or industry-specific middleware
▪▪ Application development
▪▪ Functional, stress and performance testing, and benchmarking
▪▪ Integration and support services

CONCLUSION
Android is a disruptive technology, which was introduced initially on mobile handsets, but has much wider
potential. There are challenges in the application of Android to other types of device. With the Development
System for Android-based Devices and all full-range of professional services, Mentor Graphics is well suited to
support developers using Android and Linux for a wide range of embedded applications.

Visit www.mentor.com/embedded for the latest product information.

©2009 Mentor Graphics Corporation. All rights reserved.
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