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"How to update an os without updating the os itself". Personally I see this model extending to other things as well, the idea that each part of the os is a "package" with a specified interface and that you can replace that package at any time as long you comply with that interface is a very powerful concept. I see this going a lot further then just sdk improvements in the future.

discuss

yjftsjthsd-h|3 years ago

Yeah, give it another decade and perhaps they'll reinvent Linux distros with the ability to upgrade libraries separately from the kernel. (Seriously, though; their examples look a lot like "we figured out how to ship an ad library and xdg-desktop-portal-gtk without upgrading your kernel+libc!")

pjmlp|3 years ago

They already did that, and that is what this buids on, say hi to "Modular System Components":

https://source.android.com/docs/core/ota/modular-system

jeroenhd|3 years ago

With the competition not being able to update its web browser without a full system upgrade, I'd say Android is actually ahead in this respect.

You can't just upgrade libraries willy nilly on Android devices for good reason. First it all, Google has no way to know what versions of what libraries are actually modified by the vendor or requires by vendor software. Second, the system image is read only for security and stability reasons, just like it is on many other consumer facing Linux devices. Lastly, these modular upgrades have already been implemented for years for a select subset of the Android API that can safely be updated without causing conflicts.

Having Google update a library on a Samsung phone is like installing an Arch package on Ubuntu. In theory it'll work out fine it's just a newer version, right? In practice you have no idea what's about to happen to the stability of your system.

There's a reason Linux software is actually moving towards the Android way of doing things, packaging all of its dependencies by itself into Flatpaks or AppImages or even Snaps. Externally updated code causes issues across the board, especially in a fragmented space like Linux or Android distributions.

taeric|3 years ago

I feel like this will work right up til it doesn't.

Realistically, it feels like it will necessarily introduce fence posts in the upgrade cycle such that you either don't even try and run older things, or rely on something like emulation.

My dream would be that we do the emulation route. My expectation is that we just leave the old. :(