Project

General

Profile

TasksFunding » History » Version 253

Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli, 05/02/2019 03:16 PM
Finish porting Replicant to a newer Android version: add in the template part

1 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
{{>toc}}
2
3 181 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h1. Funding
4 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
5 181 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h2. Funding procedure
6
7 247 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Tasks accepted for funding
8 186 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
9 247 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks_funding#"Finish porting Replicant to a newer Android version" nlnet Grant application|Finish porting Replicant to a newer Android version]]
10 248 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[TasksFunding#Graphics-acceleration|Graphics acceleration]]
11 84 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
12
h3. Applicant criteria
13
14 249 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* -The applicants will need to already have Patches in Replicant to apply. So if you want to apply and don't have any patches in Replicant, the easiest way is just to send some useful patches.-
15
* -The applicants will need to be able to demonstrate that they have the required skills by showing contributions in free and open source project in similar areas.-
16
* -The applicants will need to be able to do contract work-
17
18
The application criteria wrere handled by the NLnet foundation.
19 93 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
20 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Grant application template
21 93 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
22 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*url*: https://nlnet.nl/propose/
23 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*scope* : Is it per task?
24 84 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
25 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h4. Contact information
26
27 149 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Your name | Denis Carikli |
28
|_. Email address | [[PrivateContact#Email]] + our contact at the FSF |
29
|_. Phone numbers | GNUtoo's phone number |
30 108 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Organisation | Replicant and the FSF |
31 149 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Country | France(Denis Carikli), USA (FSF) |
32 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
33
h4. General project information
34
35 150 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Project name |  <Depend on the task>  |
36
|_. Website / wiki | <Depend on the task> |
37 151 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Abstract: Can you explain the whole project and its expected outcome(s).(you have 1200 characters)
38 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Please be short and to the point in your answers; focus primarily on the what and how, not so much on the why.
39
Add longer descriptions as attachments (see below).
40
If English isn't your first language, don't worry - our reviewers don't care about spelling errors, only about great ideas.
41
On the up side, you can be as technical as you need to be (but you don't have to).
42 153 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Do stay concrete. | <Depend on the task> |
43 102 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Have you been involved with projects or organizations relevant to this project before?
44 103 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
And if so, can you tell us a bit about your contributions? | Yes: I've been involved in Replicant since the beginning both as a developer and for managing the project:
45 102 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
As a developer:
46 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* I did most/all the initial system work and made it work for the the HTC Dream, and the Google Nexus One.
47 103 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* I also worked on porting the Goldelico GTA04, Galaxy nexus, Galaxy Tab 2 7.1 along with other Replicant developers and did various bug fixes and improvements.
48
* I am also doing code reviews for patches.
49 220 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
And as for managing the project I'm involved in:
50
* public relations (blog posts, etc)
51 103 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* fund usage decisions
52 152 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* infrastructure (system administration with other developers, etc)
53 103 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* documentation
54
* project direction and strategic decisions |
55 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
56
h4. Requested support
57
58 154 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Requested Amount (Between 5000 and 50000 Euros) | <depends on the task> |
59 137 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. * Explain what the requested budget will be used for? | <depends on the task> |
60
|_. * Does the project have other funding sources, both past and present? | 
61 130 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The Replicant project has about 200000 dollars at disposition:
62 96 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* The Replicant project has a donation page https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=19. Part of the donations were used for buying devices and reimburse conference attendances. We have about 20000 dollars remaining from the donation.
63
* The Replicant project recently received 200000 dollars from Handshake: https://www.fsf.org/news/free-software-foundation-receives-1-million-from-handshake As the FSF takes 10% that leaves us 180000 dollars |
64
|_. Compare your own project with existing or historical efforts. | <Depend on the task?> |
65
|_. What are significant technical challenges you expect to solve during the project, if any? | <Depend on the task?> |
66 138 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
67
Describe the ecosystem of the project, and how you will engage with relevant actors and promote the outcomes?
68
<pre>
69 139 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The Replicant project contributors and the FSF will supervise
70
contractors to do the work.
71 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
72 220 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
I will write a blog post to announce that the Replicant project
73 139 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
has got some funding for this specific task, and that it is
74
looking for a contractor to work on it. This is to make sure
75 220 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
that everyone has equal chances in the application process.
76 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
77 139 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Then the most suited contractor will be selected. Only contractors
78
that already have worked on similar tasks as part of free and open
79
source software projects will be chosen. This way we can look at
80
their existing contributions and make sure that they are able to
81
do the task before engaging with them.
82 142 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
83
The Replicant project will also make sure that the contractor has
84
or gets the hardware required to work on the task, before starting
85
to work on it.
86 138 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
</pre>
87 96 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
88 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Attachments | None |
89
90
h4. How may we handle your information
91 98 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
92
|_. What should we do in the other case,
93 95 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
 e.g. when your project is not immediately selected? | I allow NLnet Foundation to keep the information I submit on record, should future funding opportunities arise |
94 98 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Send me a copy of this application. | check-box checked |
95 94 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. PGP pubkey | None (if we use Replicant contact address, we can't encrypt to it) |
96 84 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
97
h3. Discussions
98
99
There is "a thread about funding on the mailing list":https://lists.osuosl.org/pipermail/replicant/2019-January/001774.html about that
100 76 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
101 250 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h2. Port Replicant to a newer Android version
102 113 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
103
Replicant is currently based on LineageOS 13 which is based on Android 6.0.
104
It is becoming very urgent to upgrade Replicant to a newer release of Android, as Android 6.0 is not supported anymore. It would probably also make it way easier to fix the following issues:
105
* Replicant is currently lagging behind with security fixes
106
* Replicant cannot be built from a GNU/Linux distribution that follows the Free Software Distribution Guidelines
107
108
*Hardware requirements* :
109
* A computer that is able to build Replicant.
110
* A smartphone or tablet that can easily supported by the new version of Replicant and that meet Android 9 [[HardwareRequirements]].
111
112
*Expected outcomes*:
113
* Remove all proprietary components of LineageOS and make sure that Replicant follows the "Free Software Distributions Guidelines (FSDG)":https://www.gnu.org/distros/"
114
* Port all the changes needed to successfully boot without any proprietary software in Replicant
115
* Make sure that most of the security issues are fixed, and lower the attack surface if possible.
116
* Make sure that Replicant can be built on a GNU/Linux distribution that follows the "Free Software Distributions Guidelines (FSDG)":https://www.gnu.org/distros/
117
* Rebrand LineageOS as Replicant
118
119
*Funding*: We could apply to https://nlnet.nl/PET
120
121 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Subtasks
122 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
123 89 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The following sub-tasks could also be worked on along with porting Replicant to a newer Android version, as it doesn't make sense to do them for older Replicant versions:
124 77 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks v2#Add support for devices with an upstream Linux kernel|Add support for devices with an upstream Linux kernel]]
125 80 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks v2#Add support for more recent smartphones|Add support for more recent smartphones]]
126 82 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks v2#Add support for the devices supported in Replicant 6.0 and 4.2|Add support for the devices supported in Replicant 6.0 and 4.2]]
127 113 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks v2#Support in-system upgrades|Support in-system upgrades]]
128 78 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
129 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Add support for devices with an upstream Linux kernel
130 57 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
131 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
It would also be useful to support devices using kernels that are based on upstream Linux with the least amount of kernel changes possible:
132
133
Currently, Replicant uses a dedicated Hardware Abstraction Layer per device, because device manufacturers implemented non-standard kernel interfaces. However, Android works with mainline kernels and supports plug-n-play hardware nowadays, so it makes sense to have generic Hardware Abstraction Layers for the standard interfaces of the Linux kernel (ALSA, V4L2, etc).
134
135
See also the [[Upstream#Upstream-Linux|wiki page on Upstream Linux]] for more details on why using upstream kernel is beneficial, and for what devices to choose to work on this task.
136
137 89 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*Hardware requirements* :
138
In addition to the requirements for porting Replicant to a newer Android version:
139 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* A device that is already well supported by the Upstream kernel. That device don't need to be already supported by LineageOS or even Android.
140
141
*Difficulty*: Medium
142
143
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: Knowledge of C, some C++, the ability to understand Java, kernel interfaces knowledge
144 77 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
145
*Expected outcomes*: 
146 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* Basic features working (graphics, touchscreen, buttons, audio, and telephony if there is a modem) for at least one device that use a kernel that is very closely based on upstream Linux with the generic HALs.
147
148 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Add support for more recent smartphones
149 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
150
The most recent smartphones that Replicant support are quite old (they were made around 2013). The goal here is to add support for more recent smartphones in Replicant.
151
152
Even if we think that it's at lot more important to support devices that are better for freedom (samsung devices usually have a nonfree bootloaders), adding supporting common (Samsung) phones and tablets is relatively easy and fast to do and could be a good way to get started in contributing to Replicant. 
153
154
It's advised to pick a device that:
155
* has an isolated modem (no shared memory between the modem and the processor running Android)
156
* meets Android 9 [[HardwareRequirements]] to still be useful when Replicant will be ported to Android 9
157
* has a modem that can easily be supported by samsung-ril and libsamsung-ipc 
158
* is or will be supported by lineageOS
159
160
Make sure to evaluate the device before starting to work on it. Some devices have been evaluated in the [[TargetsEvaluation|TargetsEvaluation wiki page]]. There is also a "forum section":https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/boards/27 for devices evaluation.
161 90 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
162
*Hardware requirements*:
163 92 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
In addition to the requirements for porting Replicant to a newer Android version: 
164 90 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* One or more smartphones that are already well supported by LineageOS or the AOSP project and that can easily be added in Replicant.
165 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
166
*Difficulty*: Medium
167
168
*Expected outcomes*: 
169 78 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* Basic features working (graphics, touchscreen, buttons, audio, and telephony if there is a modem) without requiring Replicant or the user to install or ship nonfree software or firmwares.
170
171 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Add support for the devices supported in Replicant 6.0 and 4.2
172 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
173
When porting Replicant to a new version, it's also a good idea to keep supporting all the devices we supported in the older versions, however this is not always possible or desirable.
174
175
In order not to require too much work, devices that were previously supported will have to meet the [[HardwareRequirements]] of the new Android version. Here many of the devices already supported by Replicant 6.0 already meet such requirements.
176
177
*Hardware requirements and dependencies*:
178
In addition to the requirements for porting Replicant to a newer Android version:
179
* The port to the new Android version needs to be complete for at least one device before starting to work on this.
180
* All the devices will need to be shipped to (or acquired by) the person working on this task before starting to work on this.
181
182
*Expected outcomes*: 
183
* For each device: evaluate if they meet the hardware requirements of the new Android version and document that in the wiki in an appropriate location  ( like [[HardwareRequirements]] for instance)
184
* For each device: basic features working (graphics, touchscreen, buttons, audio, and telephony if there is a modem) without requiring Replicant or the user to install or ship nonfree software or firmwares.
185
186
*Difficulty*: Medium
187
188 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Support in-system upgrades
189 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
190
It would be useful for a Replicant device to be able to update itself to a new version of Replicant without requiring being connected to a PC. LineageOS already supports this; we suspect that it should be possible to adapt this LineageOS functionality to Replicant.
191
192
Whenever possible, it would be useful to complete and submit some of the code written for Replicant to LineageOS.
193
194 78 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*Difficulty*: Medium
195
196
*Expected outcomes*: 
197 119 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* In-system updates working without being connected to a PC
198
199 251 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. "Finish porting Replicant to a newer Android version" nlnet Grant application
200 119 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
201 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
202
h4. Contact information:
203
204
|_. Your name | Denis Carikli |
205
|_. Email address | [[PrivateContact#Email]] + our contact at the FSF |
206
|_. Phone numbers | GNUtoo's phone number |
207
|_. Organisation | Replicant and the FSF |
208
|_. Country | France(Denis Carikli), USA (FSF) |
209
210
h4. General project information
211
212 125 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Project name | Finish porting Replicant to a newer Android version |
213 128 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Website / wiki | https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Porting_Replicant_to_Android_9 |
214 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Abstract: Can you explain the whole project and its expected outcome(s).in 1200 characters | <pre>
215 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Replicant is a fully free software Android distribution which
216 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
is approved by the FSF (http://gnu.org/distros).
217 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
218
The combination of Android Open Source Project source code with
219
the Linux source code provided by the device vendor is not
220 216 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
sufficient to produce a fully free Android distribution that
221 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
works: a lot of the code that makes critical hardware components
222 216 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
work (the modem, graphics, audio, GPS, etc) is in userspace.
223 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Because of that, most device manufacturers don't release them as
224 195 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
free software.
225 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
226
To make such hardware work, the Replicant project manages to
227 216 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
replace or avoid such nonfree software.
228 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
229
Replicant is currently based on LineageOS 13.0 which in turn is based
230 216 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
on Android 6.0.1 which are both not supported anymore. Replicant is
231 196 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
based on LineageOS because it supports way more smartphones and
232
tablets than the Android Open Source Project.
233 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
234
The project consists in porting Replicant changes on top of the
235
Android 9 release of the Android Open Source project,
236
and when LineageOS 16 will be ready, to backport our changes on
237
top of LineageOS 16.
238 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
</pre> |
239 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Have you been involved with projects or organizations relevant to this project before?
240 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
And if so, can you tell us a bit about your contributions? | Yes: I've been involved in Replicant since the beginning both as a developer and for managing the project:
241
As a developer:
242
* I did most/all the initial system work and made it work for the the HTC Dream, and the Google Nexus One.
243
* I also worked on porting the Goldelico GTA04, Galaxy nexus, Galaxy Tab 2 7.1 along with other Replicant developers and did various bug fixes and improvements.
244
* I am also doing code reviews for patches.
245
And as for managing the project I'm involved in:
246
* public relations (blog posts, etc)
247
* fund usage decisions
248
* infrastructure (system administration with other developers, etc)
249
* documentation
250
* project direction and strategic decisions |
251 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
252 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h4. Requested support
253
254 140 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Requested Amount (Between 5000 and 50000 Euros) | 50000 Euros |
255 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Does the project have other funding sources, both past and present? | 
256
The Replicant project has about 200000 dollars at disposition:
257
* The Replicant project has a donation page https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=19. Part of the donations were used for buying devices and reimburse conference attendances. We have about 20000 dollars remaining from the donation.
258
* The Replicant project recently received 200000 dollars from Handshake: https://www.fsf.org/news/free-software-foundation-receives-1-million-from-handshake As the FSF takes 10% that leaves us 180000 dollars |
259 190 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
260
Explain what the requested budget will be used for? 
261
<pre>
262 189 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The budget will only be used to fund this task through contract work.
263 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
264 133 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
We think it will take something between 3 and 6 months of work
265
for one full time developer.
266
267 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
However it is always difficult to evaluate precisely the amount of time
268
that this kind of project would take as sometimes it can be slowed down
269 155 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
a lot due to bugs needing to be fixed.
270
271
For instance, when adding support for the Nexus One to Replicant,
272
a lot of time was spent dealing with display issues that didn't affect
273 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
the upstream projects, because they relied on the GPU which required
274 169 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
nonfree software to work.
275
276
If we take the cost of a Freelance developer in the USA (75$ to 150$
277
per hour) as a basis, to enable people living in Europe and the USA
278 155 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
to apply, we can fund a developer to work on it for a period that
279
is mostly equivalent to something between 2 to 4 months full
280
time.
281 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
282
So far we have at least one person interested in working on it
283
as a contractor (me), and one volunteer who wants to work on it at the
284
same time, but who cannot do it full time. We will make sure
285 155 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
that everybody has a chance to apply for doing contract work.
286 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
287
If the work is not done when the 50000E run out, and if we cannot
288
make sure that it will be completed by volunteers in a reasonable
289 191 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
timeframe, the Replicant project will most probably use its existing
290
funds to pay for contract work to make sure that this task is completed.
291 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
292 191 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The Replicant project will also take care of ensuring that the
293
people that will work on this task have the necessary hardware to
294 171 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
do it, for instance by shipping or reimbursing the purchase of a
295 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
compatible smartphone with the Replicant project money.
296 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
297
Once we have the Samsung Galaxy SIII fully working with
298
Replicant 9, we will add support for most smartphones
299 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
and tablets we currently support in Replicant, and add support
300 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
for more recent smartphones (the most recent one we currently
301 168 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
support has been released in 2013).
302
303
We also have a very basic documentation on the Android 9 port here:
304 170 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Porting_Replicant_to_Android_9
305
</pre>
306
307 132 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Compare your own project with existing or historical efforts.
308
<pre>
309 217 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Upgrading Replicant to a new Android version usually took about 2 or 3
310
months of full-time equivalent work for one person.
311
Here, we already have a device (The Galaxy SIII 4G) booting under Android 9
312
master before the release, with a kernel that is closely based on upstream
313
Linux, but a lot still needs to be done (modem, audio, sensors, etc) and
314 76 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
validated. The Android architecture also changed a lot more between Android
315
6.0.1 and Android 9 than it did when we ported Replicant to newer Android
316
versions.
317 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
</pre>
318
319
What are significant technical challenges you expect to solve during the project, if any?
320
<pre>
321
We will also need to make sure that Replicant 9 can be built with a
322
GNU/Linux distribution that is approved by the FSF. This could be
323
challenging if they lack some of the packages required to build Android.
324
</pre>
325
326 253 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Describe the ecosystem of the project, and how you will engage with relevant actors and promote the outcomes?
327
<pre>
328
This project will re-use code from several projects such as Android,
329
drm-hwcomposer, Mesa and Lima driver. Whenever possible we will foster
330
collaboration with these projects and submit our changes upstream.
331
332
The Replicant project contributors and the FSF will supervise
333
contractors to do the work.
334
335
A blog post will announce that the Replicant project
336
has got some funding for this specific task, and that it is
337
looking for a contractor to work on it. This is to make sure
338
that everyone has equal chances in the application process.
339
340
Then the most suited contractor will be selected. Only contractors
341
that already have worked on similar tasks as part of free and open
342
source software projects will be chosen. This way we can look at
343
their existing contributions and make sure that they are able to
344
do the task before engaging with them.
345
346
The Replicant project will also make sure that the contractor has
347
or gets the hardware required to work on the task, before starting
348
to work on it.</pre>
349
350
|_. Attachments | None |
351 250 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
352 165 dl lud
h2. Graphics acceleration
353 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
354 173 dl lud
Currently, all supported devices on Replicant lack a free software driver for their GPU. This means that OpenGL ES (GLES) rendering must be done on the CPU (software rendering). The current approach to software rendering on Replicant 6 is based on "libAGL":https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/native/+/master/opengl, an optimized GLES 1.x implementation that uses "libpixelflinger":https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+log/master/libpixelflinger software renderer. Development on both these libraries ceased in 2013 and no work was done to support newer GLES versions.
355 226 dl lud
The major consequences of this are that:
356 173 dl lud
* Critical applications like web browsers crash due to lack of GLES 2.0 (#705). Replicant currently uses an out-dated browser that has many security flaws.
357 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* Replicant relies on patches to the Android framework to make things like the camera application work.
358 166 dl lud
* The rendering speed has degraded over the newer Android versions, like Android 6. Even applications that do not crash become difficult to use due to the huge rendering delays.
359 235 dl lud
360 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
This task aims to fix all these severe issues by putting together a new graphics stack for the Android 9 port. This new graphics stack must be compatible with Android 9 Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL) and provide at least GLES 2.0 rendering. It should be flexible enough to do software rendering with "Mesa":https://www.mesa3d.org/intro.html or "SwiftShader":https://swiftshader.googlesource.com/SwiftShader (Google's current software renderer), and also GPU rendering on devices where a free GPU driver is available.
361 235 dl lud
362 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
"Joonas Kylmรคlรค":https://redmine.replicant.us/users/8585 has done some introductory work on the Android 9 port for the i9305, and found a way to have it rendering to the screen. He put together a graphics stack composed of: gbm_gralloc ("Gralloc HAL":https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/implement#gralloc_hal) + drm_hwcomposer ("Hardware Composer HAL":https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/implement#hardware_composer_hal) + Mesa with kms_swrast driver with softpipe backend (CPU software renderer for GLES). This will be the starting point for this task.
363 235 dl lud
364 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Joonas' prototype shows that Replicant can use "gbm_gralloc":https://osdn.net/projects/android-x86/scm/git/external-gbm_gralloc/summary, an existing graphics memory allocator (gralloc) HAL maintained(ish) by Android-x86, in conjunction with "drm-hwcomposer":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm-hwcomposer/drm-hwcomposer, a libre implementation of Android's Hardware Composer HAL based on Linux's DRM, to achieve software rendering with Mesa. This solution avoids the need to write a custom gralloc for Replicant, and takes advantage of the hardware acceleration for composition provided by drm-hwcomposer on devices with a free software DRM driver (e.g. exynos-based smartphones and tablets).
365 236 dl lud
366 237 dl lud
Much more testing is needed to confirm that gbm_gralloc can be the definitive gralloc HAL on Replicant 9. It still wasn't tried with SwiftShader, or even Mesa's llvmpipe backend, which is a must since the softpipe backend is too slow to be usable.
367 235 dl lud
Joonas' tests showed that some other components will need our attention, mostly the drm/exynos driver. In order to make drm/exynos work with gbm_gralloc and drm-hwcomposer Joonas had to disable "DRM-Auth":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Rendering_Manager#DRM-Master_and_DRM-Auth and hack some missing pixel formats into it by using the default pixel format for everything. Besides drm/exynos, we will also have to make the graphics stack work with the "virtual GEM (vGEM) driver":https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=DRM-vGEM-Mesa-Software, in order to support devices that lack a real drm driver.
368
369
The major and first goal of this task is thus to build upon Joonas's prototype and put together a stable and fully free graphics stack, compatible with GLES 2.0, that does software rendering through Mesa's llvmpipe with a decent performance.
370 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
371 165 dl lud
*Hardware requirements*: A computer that is able to build Replicant. A Samsung Galaxy S3 or S3 4G to run the [[Porting_Replicant_to_Android_9|current Replicant 9 port]].
372 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
373
*Difficulty*: Medium / Hard
374
375
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: Knowledge of C++, kernel interfaces knowledge or the ability to learn them
376
377 235 dl lud
*Expected outcomes*:
378 226 dl lud
* Graphics stack with decent performance on software rendering
379 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* Working GLES 2.0 implementation
380
* Fast enough graphics
381 209 dl lud
* F-Droid applications not crashing anymore because of GLES.
382 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
383 210 dl lud
*Time +estimation+*:
384 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
385 237 dl lud
|_. Step |_. man-hours |
386
| Set up the development environment, including the current Replicant 9 port on the test device. |>. 24 |
387
| Read AOSP documentation and understand all details of the graphics stack. |>. 16 |
388
| Adapt the build files to use Mesa's llvmpipe backend instead of softpipe. Fix potential LLVM version incompatibilities between Mesa and Android. |>. 40 |
389
| Properly implement the missing pixel formats in drm/exynos and try to have it merged into upstream. |>. 72 |
390
| Find a proper way to use DRM-Master and DRM-Auth with gbm_gralloc and drm-hwcomposer. |>. 40 |
391 238 dl lud
| Create test scenarios and check if the graphics stack works as expected. Consider "alternative grallocs":https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/GraphicsResearch#Gralloc if necessary. |>. 40 |
392 234 dl lud
| Make the graphics stack work with vGEM driver besides drm/exynos. |>. 40 |
393 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
| Document the design decisions. |>. 16 |
394
|_. TOTAL |_>. 288 |
395 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
396 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Subtasks
397
398 235 dl lud
The following sub-tasks could also be worked on after finishing writing the gralloc:
399 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* [[Tasks_funding#SwiftShader|SwiftShader]]
400
* [[Tasks_funding#llvmpipe optimizations|llvmpipe optimizations]]
401
* [[Tasks_funding#Lima driver|Lima driver]]
402 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
403 235 dl lud
h3. SwiftShader
404 238 dl lud
405 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
"SwiftShader":https://swiftshader.googlesource.com/SwiftShader is Google's current software renderer that is capable of GLES 2.0 and is now "under work to support Vulkan":https://swiftshader.googlesource.com/SwiftShader/+log/master.
406 238 dl lud
407 232 dl lud
Mesa is the preferred renderer on Replicant for several reasons such as its support for both software and hardware (GPU) rendering, and its big community, with hundreds of active contributors. However, Mesa lacks a Vulkan software renderer. With Vulkan soon becoming a "requirement for new Android versions":https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2019/03/introducing-android-q-beta.html, we must make sure that Replicant's graphics stack can use SwiftShader in order to become futureproof. Furthermore, SwiftShader was built with performance in mind, specially for ARM CPUs, and may bring speed improvements on some devices.
408 238 dl lud
409 233 dl lud
The goal of this sub-task is thus to create a compile-time or run-time option that allows using Replicant 9 with SwiftShader as it's software renderer instead of Mesa.
410 232 dl lud
411 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*Hardware requirements*: A computer that is able to build Replicant. A smartphone or tablet that is supported by Replicant to be able to test the result.
412
413
*Difficulty*: Medium
414
415
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: Knowledge of C++, Makefiles and git. Android's graphics stack knowledge or the ability to learn them.
416
417 238 dl lud
*Expected outcomes*:
418
* SwiftShader running on Replicant.
419 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
* Working Vulkan implementation.
420 211 dl lud
421
*Time +estimation+*: 40 man-hours.
422 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
423 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. llvmpipe optimizations
424
425
Mesa is a highly versatile library that can be extended with device drivers to allow it to be used in different environments ranging from software emulation to complete hardware acceleration. One such driver is the "Gallium llvmpipe driver":https://www.mesa3d.org/llvmpipe.html, which is a software rasterizer that uses LLVM to do runtime code generation. It only needs a CPU to run graphics computations and thus brings full GLES support to all Replicant devices.
426
427
"llvmpipe has been integrated in Replicant 6":https://git.replicant.us/replicant/external_mesa3d/log/ but it's not activated by default yet as it is very slow. It is also not fully complete.
428
429
To fix that, llvmpipe and/or the integration of it in Replicant should be optimized. We should first start by configuring llvmpipe and/or Mesa "to not implement very expensive OpenGL operations":https://www.mesa3d.org/perf.html. If that's not sufficient, or if that breaks application compatibility, various software or hardware features ("ARM NEON":https://www.arm.com/products/processors/technologies/neon.php, hardware 2D acceleration, etc) could be used to improve the speed.
430 231 dl lud
431
Considerable speed improvements may be achieved with a fine-tuned emulation for division instructions. The ARM cores on many Replicant devices do not have hardware "support for the SDIV/UDIV instructions":https://community.arm.com/processors/b/blog/posts/divide-and-conquer. We should profile some apps and check whether GLES functions requiring divisions are to blame for the poor performance.
432 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
433
*Hardware requirements* : A computer that is able to build Replicant. A smartphone or tablet that is supported by Replicant to be able to test the result.
434
435
*Difficulty*: Medium / Hard (depending on the amount of optimizations required)
436
437
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: See with Mesa project
438
439 211 dl lud
*Expected outcomes*: faster llvmpipe on ARM devices, able to run apps such as Fennec F-Droid (Firefox).
440
441
*Time +estimation+*:
442
443 234 dl lud
|_. Step |_. man-hours |
444
| Setup a "testing and benchmarking environment":https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/testing |>. 40 |
445
| Disable expensive OpenGL operations. Check speedup and stability. |>. 24 |
446
| Recap matrix operations (Linear Algebra) and study ARM NEON. |>. 48 |
447 242 dl lud
| Do a profiling of several apps to find the most used GLES operations. |>. 32 |
448 234 dl lud
| Use "Ne10 library":https://github.com/projectNe10/Ne10 or "Neon Intrinsics":https://developer.arm.com/architectures/instruction-sets/simd-isas/neon/intrinsics for the most used GLES operations. |>. 80 |
449
| Fix bugs, re-write the code where needed, get it stable. |>. 80 |
450 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. TOTAL |_>. 304 |
451 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
452 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h3. Lima driver
453
454
"Lima":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima is a free software Mesa driver for ARM Mali-4xx (Utgard) GPUs. These GPUs are present in several Replicant supported devices such as Galaxy S2, S3, S3 4G, Note and Note 2. 
455
456
Lima aims to full GLES support but it is still in development. However the "current implementation status":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima/mesa/issues/39#note_79193 already allows the hardware acceleration of several tasks. GPU-based hardware acceleration is faster and less power hungry than software rendering, both by several orders of magnitude. It would allow Replicant devices to run applications with a performance close to that of non-free devices.
457 167 dl lud
458
*Hardware requirements* : A computer that is able to build Replicant. A Replicant device with a Mali-4xx GPU that can run mainline Linux (e.g. Galaxy S3 or Note 2).
459
460
*Difficulty*: Medium
461
462
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: "See with Lima project":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima/web/wikis/home#build-and-install
463 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
464 212 dl lud
*Expected outcomes*: Lima driver being used for GLES rendering on a supported device.
465
466 234 dl lud
|_. Step |_. man-hours |
467
| Rebase "Lima's Linux kernel DRM driver":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima/linux on top of "forkbomb's Midas on Mainline kernel":https://blog.forkwhiletrue.me/pages/midas-mainline/. |>. 80 |
468
| Replace mainline Mesa for "Lima's Mesa":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima/mesa (with their driver).  |>. 16 |
469
| Build and test thoroughly with "synthetic":https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/testing and real applications. |>. 40 |
470
| Create a fallback mechanism that uses the software renderer for GLES functions not yet implemented in Lima. |>. 100 |
471 222 dl lud
|_. TOTAL |_>. 236 |
472 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
473 243 dl lud
h3. Software Bill of Materials
474
475
* "Replicant 9":https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Porting_Replicant_to_Android_9
476
* "Mesa":https://www.mesa3d.org/intro.html (in particular: "Gallium llvmpipe driver":https://www.mesa3d.org/llvmpipe.html)
477
* "gbm_gralloc":https://osdn.net/projects/android-x86/scm/git/external-gbm_gralloc/summary
478
* "drm-hwcomposer":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm-hwcomposer/drm-hwcomposer
479
* "Linux kernel":https://www.kernel.org/ (in particular: drm/exynos driver and "vGEM driver":https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=DRM-vGEM-Mesa-Software)
480
* "SwiftShader":https://swiftshader.googlesource.com/SwiftShader
481
* "Ne10 library":https://github.com/projectNe10/Ne10
482
* "Neon Intrinsics":https://developer.arm.com/architectures/instruction-sets/simd-isas/neon/intrinsics
483
* "Lima":https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima
484 252 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
485 222 dl lud
h3. "Graphics acceleration on Replicant" nlnet Grant application
486
487
|_. Project name | Graphics acceleration on Replicant |
488
|_. Website / wiki | https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Tasks_funding#Graphics-acceleration |
489
490
Abstract: Can you explain the whole project and its expected outcome(s) in 1200 characters
491
<pre>
492
Replicant is a fully free software Android distribution which is approved by the
493
FSF. All supported devices on Replicant currently lack a free software driver
494
for their GPU. As such, OpenGL ES (GLES) rendering must be done on the CPU
495
through software rendering (SR).
496 223 dl lud
497 222 dl lud
Replicant's current renderer is both incomplete and slow. It causes essential
498
apps like web browsers to crash due to lack of GLES 2.0, and many other
499
apps run too slow to be usable.
500
501
This project aims to fix this by complementing Android's 9 graphics stack.
502
Adding a few missing components will created of a fully-free, fast and compliant
503
graphics stack.
504
505
First we will write a gralloc (graphics memory allocator) tailored for SR that
506
is compatible with drm-hwcomposer (a libre implementation of Android's Hardware
507
Composer HAL). This gralloc enables drm-hwcomposer to work with SurfaceFlinger
508
and SwiftShader, creating a stack capable of GLES 2.0 on the CPU of all Replicant
509
devices.
510
511
Afterwards we will integrate and optimize Mesa's llvmpipe SR, which offers better
512
community support than SwiftShader. As last step we will add support for the
513
Lima driver, which will bring an even faster GPU-backed GLES to at least 5
514
devices.
515
</pre> 
516
517
|_. Have you been involved with projects or organizations relevant to this project before?
518
And if so, can you tell us a bit about your contributions? | SEE TEMPLATE |
519
520
|_. Requested Amount (Between 5000 and 50000 Euros) | 50000 Euros |
521
|_. Does the project have other funding sources, both past and present? | SEE TEMPLATE |
522
523 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Explain what the requested budget will be used for? 
524 223 dl lud
<pre>
525 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
The budget will only be used to fund this project through contract work.
526 223 dl lud
527
We estimate that this project should take 868 man-hours to reach full completion,
528
with 632 man-hours being enough to reach all software rendering goals, leaving only
529
the GPU rendering to be done. A detailed run-down of this estimate is available at
530
https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Tasks_funding#Graphics-acceleration
531
532
So far we have a team of two people interested on working on this project (the
533
two authors and submitters of this application). Both can commit to the project
534
on a part-time regime (17.5 hours per week), which means that the project should
535
be fully completed in about 6 months.
536
537
We will make sure that everybody has a chance to apply for doing contract work.
538
If we take the cost of a freelance developer in the USA (75 to 150 USD
539
per hour) as a basis, to enable people living in Europe and the USA
540
to apply, we can fund between 380 and 760 man-hours with the 50000 EUR budget.
541
This should be enough to cover all work on software rendering plus the initial
542
work on GPU rendering.
543
544
As happens on all software projects, getting a precise time/effort evaluation is
545
a difficult endeavour, specially when dealing with a project that is heavy on
546
research such as this one.
547
548
If the software rendering goals are not reached when the 50000 EUR budget runs
549
out, or if the Replicant project deems it necessary to have GPU rendering, it
550
will use its existing funds to pay for contract work if no volunteers are found
551
to finish the project.
552
553
The Replicant project will also make sure that the people working on this project
554
have the necessary hardware to do it, for instance by shipping or reimbursing the
555 222 dl lud
purchase of a compatible smartphone with the Replicant project funds.
556
</pre>
557
558
Compare your own project with existing or historical efforts.
559 224 dl lud
<pre>
560
Past Replicant versions have relied on patches to the Android framework to make
561
software rendering work. These patches were quite specific for Replicant and
562
had no use elsewhere. This made them unfit for upstreaming or sharing with any
563 222 dl lud
other project.
564 224 dl lud
565
Android's Project Treble new graphics stack allows us to follow a different
566
approach this time. Instead of patching the Android framework, we will
567
implement one of the well defined Android HALs (Hardware Abstraction Layer):
568
the gralloc HAL. The end result will be a software library that can prove to be
569
useful on several projects besides Replicant (e.g. Android-x86 project) and
570
thus fit for upstreaming.
571
572
573
Furthermore, past Replicant versions relied on Google's software renderers
574
(ligAGL and libpixelflinger) for OpenGL ES support. As quite a few other
575
Google's open-source projects, these two had no community behind them and got
576
stalled as soon as Google deprecated them.
577
578
This time will we take a different approach. Although our first graphics stack
579
will rely on Google's SwiftShader renderer, we will then move our efforts into
580
Mesa. Mesa is a big community project, with hundreds of active contributors and
581
great community support. It includes the llvmpipe software renderer along with
582
new drivers in development for GPUs present on current and future Replicant
583 222 dl lud
devices. Mesa should provide a stable and maintained platform for years to come.
584
</pre>
585
586
What are significant technical challenges you expect to solve during the project, if any?
587 225 dl lud
<pre>
588
We expect to solve significant technical challenges during this project:
589
1. Implementation of the first Android gralloc library compatible with software
590
rendering.
591
2. Development of free-software benchmarks for OpenGL ES on Android, used to test
592
our optimizations to llvmpipe.
593
3. Optimization of llvmpipe by at least one order of magnitude.
594
4. Running an exynos based smartphone with fully free-software GPU graphics
595 222 dl lud
acceleration.
596
</pre>
597 229 dl lud
598
Describe the ecosystem of the project, and how you will engage with relevant actors and promote the outcomes?
599
<pre>
600
This project will re-use code from several projects such as Android,
601
drm-hwcomposer, Mesa and Lima driver. Whenever possible we will foster
602
collaboration with these projects and submit our changes upstream.
603
604
The Replicant project contributors and the FSF will supervise
605
contractors to do the work.
606
607
A blog post will announce that the Replicant project
608
has got some funding for this specific task, and that it is
609
looking for a contractor to work on it. This is to make sure
610
that everyone has equal chances in the application process.
611
612
Then the most suited contractor will be selected. Only contractors
613
that already have worked on similar tasks as part of free and open
614
source software projects will be chosen. This way we can look at
615
their existing contributions and make sure that they are able to
616
do the task before engaging with them.
617
618
The Replicant project will also make sure that the contractor has
619
or gets the hardware required to work on the task, before starting
620 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
to work on it.
621 229 dl lud
</pre>
622 222 dl lud
623 167 dl lud
|_. Attachments | SEE TEMPLATE |
624 250 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
625 167 dl lud
h2. Finish to port the Galaxy S III (I9300) and the Galaxy Note 2 (N7100) to Mainline Linux
626
627
The the Galaxy S 2 (I9100), Galaxy S 3 (I9300) and Galaxy Note 2 (N7100) currently use a kernel based on a vendor fork of Linux, which poses a maintainability and security issue.  Forkbomb has done some initial work on porting these devices to use mainline Linux.  You can help by continuing this work. This would also enable these devices to use generic hardware abstraction layers (HAL) when abstractions layers are ready, and to do some research on whether the "TrustZone operating system":https://blog.fossencdi.org/u-boot-galaxys3.html can be removed from such devices.
628 85 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
629
*Hardware requirements* : A computer that is able to build Replicant. A Galaxy S 2 (I9100), Galaxy S 3 (I9300) or Galaxy Note 2 (N7100), and a serial port adapter to get the kernel boot logs.
630
631
*Difficulty*: Medium
632
633
*Requirements/Prerequisites*: C programming language, driver development
634 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
635 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
*Expected outcomes*: Audio working, modem working, and Replicant or LineageOS booting with mainline Linux.
636 215 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
637 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
h4. "Finish to port the Galaxy S III (I9300) and the Galaxy Note 2 (N7100) to Mainline Linux" nlnet Grant application
638 239 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
639 241 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Project name | TODO |
640 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Website / wiki | https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/Upstream#Replicant-supported-Samsung-Exynos-devices |
641
642
Abstract: Can you explain the whole project and its expected outcome(s).in 1200 characters
643 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
<pre>
644 239 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
Replicant is a fully free Android distribution that is
645 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
approved by the FSF (http://gnu.org/distros).
646 239 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
647
TODO
648 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
 
649
</pre>
650 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
651 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Have you been involved with projects or organizations relevant to this project before?
652
And if so, can you tell us a bit about your contributions? | SEE TEMPLATE |
653
654
|_. Requested Amount (Between 5000 and 50000 Euros) | 50000 Euros |
655 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Does the project have other funding sources, both past and present? | SEE TEMPLATE |
656 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
657
Explain what the requested budget will be used for? 
658
<pre>
659
The budget will only be used to fund this task through contract work.
660
661
We think it will take something between 3 and 4 month of work
662
for one full time developer.
663
664
If we take the cost of a Freelance developer in the USA (75$ to 150$
665
per hour) as a basis, to enable people living in Europe and the USA
666
to apply, we can fund a developer to work on it for a period that
667
is mostly equivalent to something between 2 to 4 months full
668
time.
669
670
The Replicant project will take care of making sure that the
671
people that will work on this task have the necessary hardware to
672
do it, for instance by shipping or reimbursing the purchase of a
673
compatible smartphone with the Replicant project money.
674
</pre>
675
676
Compare your own project with existing or historical efforts.
677 239 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
<pre>
678 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
TODO
679
</pre>
680
681
What are significant technical challenges you expect to solve during the project, if any?
682 239 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
<pre>
683 214 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
TODO
684
</pre>
685
686
|_. Describe the ecosystem of the project, and how you will engage with relevant actors and promote the outcomes? | SEE TEMPLATE |
687 1 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli
|_. Attachments | SEE TEMPLATE |