General Terminology-- Rooting Android Devices

These are some general terms about an android OS powered device during  Rooting and development process.

Apps2SD:A method of storing applications and cache on the device's microSD card.

ADB:Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile command line tool that lets you communicate with an emulator instance or connected Android-powered device.

AMOLED:Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. Basically, a very colorful, bright, display found in some smartphones

APK:Android Package Kit. Each Android application is compiled and packaged in a single file that includes all of the application's code (.dex files), resources, assets, and manifest file. The application package file can have any name but must use the .apk extension. For example: myExampleAppname.apk. For convenience, an application package file is often referred to as an ".apk".

Bootloader:This small program's only job is to load other data and programs which are then executed from RAM.Often, multiple-stage boot loaders are used, during which several programs of increasing complexity load one after the other in a process of chain loading.

Bootloop:When your system recycles over and over without entering the main OS.Often happens when you make some mistake while flashing files into rom through recovery.

EXT.(Extended File System):The extended file system, or ext, was implemented in 1992 as the first file system created specifically for the Linux kernel. It has metadata structure inspired by the traditional Unix File System and was designed by Rémy Card. It was the first implementation that used the virtual file system and it could handle file systems up to 2 gigabytes in size.

The ext2ext3 and ext4 file systems were all derived from this one. Most ext discussions center around ext3 and ext4 in the Android world.

FC/FC's:Short for "force close," meaning an app that has crashed.

Fastboot:A diagnostic protocol used primarily to modify the flash filesystem in Android smartphones from another computer over a USB connection. It is part of the Android Debug Bridge library.
Utilizing the Fastboot protocol requires that the device be started in a boot loader or Second Program Loader mode in which only the most basic hardware initialization is performed. After enabling the protocol on the device itself it will accept any command sent to it over USB via a command line. Some of most commonly used fastboot commands include:

•flash - Overwrites a partition in flash with a binary image stored on the host computer.
•erase - Erases a partition in flash.
•reboot - Reboots the device into the either the main operating system or the system recovery partition.
•devices - Displays a list of all devices (with Serial #) connected to the host computer.

Hboot:It’s mainly responsible for checking and initializing the hardware and starting the phone’s software. It can also be used for flashing official software releases, as well as a few other things. HBoot can be compared to the BIOS on a computer.

Kernel:A kernel is a layer of code that allows the OS and applications to interface with your phone's hardware. The degree in which you can access your phone's hardware features depends on the quality of code in the kernel. The homebrew (rooting) community for HTC has made several kernel code improvements that give us additional features from our hardware that the stock kernel does not. When you flash a custom ROM, you automatically get a kernel. But you can also flash a standalone kernel ROM on top of the existing one, effectively overwriting it. These days, the difference in custom kernels is less about new features and more about alternate configurations. Choosing a custom kernel is basically choosing one that works best with your ROM.

Mod:The act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer.

Overclock:To increase the speed of your CPU from that assigned by manufacturers.

Recovery:The recovery partition is a boot-mode for your phone that allows you to wipe your settings from the Data partition of the phone (a hard wipe), or perform an update using an update.zip file on the root of the microSD card. It is common (although not necessary) to flash a patched Recovery image, such as TWRP or ClockworkMod Recovery. This allows you to run Nandroid backup from the device, and flash modifications, such as files to the device, essentially becoming a means to install software to the device. Recovery mode is separate from ‘normal’ mode, and can be entered by holding down home whilst turning the phone on.

Rooting: A process allowing users of mobile phones, tablet PCs, and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's subsystem. Rooting is often performed with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on some devices, resulting in the ability to alter or replace system applications and settings, run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions, or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user. Rooting is analogous to jailbreaking devices running the Apple iOS operating system or the Sony PlayStation 3. On Android, rooting can also facilitate the complete removal and replacement of the device's operating system.

Superuser/SU:On many computer operating systems, the superuser is a special user account used for system administration. Depending on the operating system, the actual name of this account might be: root, administrator or supervisor.
Normal work on such a system is done using ordinary user accounts, and because these do not have the ability to make system-wide changes any viruses and other malware - or simple user errors - do not have the ability to adversly affect a whole system. In organizations, administrative privileges are often reserved for authorized experienced individuals.

SDK:(SDK or "devkit") is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.

Stock:This is the operating system in its default form, without any modifications made to it except for any device-specific support required to run it on the particular device.

S-On:Security on,means no acces to the phones operating system. Original unrooted state

S-Off:Security was exploited,now have access to the operating system.Afer root state.

 

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