Patches or entire ROMs?

[lordbah]

I'm coming from webOS where there were unofficial but extremely well-known channels for distributing small patches, and you could mix-and-match to get your phone looking and behaving just the way you wanted. If I wanted the battery icon in the status bar to be a percentage instead, and to show month/day on the status bar, then I could get just those changes. In the Android world it looks like we have to install entire ROMs, i.e. I'm going to get someone else's idea of what the phone should look like - getting all the changes with no ability to mix-and-match. Is there such a facility that I haven't found yet?

 

[revickulous2001]

There are ROMs and there are MODs. ROMs are the full deal. MODs add basic features. The 1% MOD is a popular one right now for the gnex. It gives only the functionality of the percent on the battery indicator.

You can flash MODs without having to wipe your user data through CWM. You just need to make sure the your current ROM supports that particular MOD.

 

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

I'm sort of doing both. I flashed a deodexed rom that doesn't change much then installed a power menu mod, auto brightness mod, soft key mod, and 1% battery mod. Just make sure the mod supports the rom you're on and you can customize the phone pretty extensively. I was also using a launcher mod but just installed Nova Launcher.

 

[lordbah]

I'll have to lookup what the heck "deodexed" means in the morning. Meanwhile, I look on rootzwiki under Roms / Samsung / Galaxy Nexus and see zero. What are good places to watch for ROMs and MODs?

 

[Iceman0803]

I'll have to lookup what the heck "deodexed" means in the morning. Meanwhile, I look on rootzwiki under Roms / Samsung / Galaxy Nexus and see zero. What are good places to watch for ROMs and MODs?

[Guide] Rootz Wiki's List of ROMs / Kernels / Tweaks / Theme's / Radios LTE Edition - RootzWiki

 

[ohiomoto]

Also coming form webOS and wondered the same. Thanks for starting the topic and to everyone who replied.

 

[Iceman0803]

Also coming form webOS and wondered the same. Thanks for starting the topic and to everyone who replied.

You're welcome

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[lordbah]

As I understand it, the first time Android boots it will re-odex everything. Does that mean there's a very small window of time when you can install a mod, after flashing the new ROM but before rebooting?

Thanks for the link to the list of ROMs and mods.

 

[Iceman0803]

As I understand it, the first time Android boots it will re-odex everything. Does that mean there's a very small window of time when you can install a mod, after flashing the new ROM but before rebooting?

Thanks for the link to the list of ROMs and mods.

Custom ROMS do not get re-odexed because MOST aren't odexed to begin with. ROMS are deodexed so you can use custom themes if you want.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[lordbah]

Here's what I was reading --> What Is Odex And Deodex In Android [Complete Guide]

A deodexed, or .dex file contains the cache used by this virtual machine (referred to as Dalvik-cache) for a program, and it is stored inside the APK. An .odex file, on the other hand, is an optimized version of this same .dex file that is stored next to the APK as opposed to inside it.

...

On the other hand, since the .odex files were supposed to quickly build the dalvik cache, removing them would mean longer initial boot times. However, this is true only for the first ever boot after deodexing, since the cache would still get built over time as applications are used.

I interpreted "the cache would still get built over time" to mean "the .odex files will be recreated". Incorrect?

 

[mikestorm]

Here's what I was reading --> What Is Odex And Deodex In Android [Complete Guide]



I interpreted "the cache would still get built over time" to mean "the .odex files will be recreated". Incorrect?

Right. A few days in to the ROM, assuming you accessed most/all of the functionality there isn't a difference. Article defines differences but forgets the "why should you care" part.

The main difference is one has app settings pre bundled along side it while the other doesnt prebundle anything, letting the settings dynamically create after first boot. Much more difficult to mod, theme, and customize ROMs if code is elsewhere to potentially conflict with what you're trying to do. To a ROM chef, prebundled code elsewhere = bad.

Deodex foregoes the pre built cache, so customizations and the like are possible. Then, once the custom ROM is loaded on the device, the cache begins building itself on first boot.

This is why first boots of a Deodex ROM take much longer than subsequent/ regular boots. Also why wiping between ROMs is a good idea. Your old cache could conflict with the new ROM.