Is Android a linux system?

Android is a free and open-source operating system based on the Linux kernel, but Android cannot be directly understood as a Linux system; software in Linux distributions usually only includes open source software that has been reviewed by the open source community. Or closed source software that has been reviewed by commercial organizations. The software on Android is basically closed source, and there is basically no review mechanism for these software.

#The operating environment of this tutorial: linux7.3 system, Dell G3 computer.

Is Android a Linux system?

Android (Android) is a free and open source operating system based on the Linux kernel (excluding GNU components).

Mainly used in mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, it is led and developed by the American Google Company and the Open Handset Alliance.

You must not interpret the statement that Android is based on the Linux kernel to mean that Android is equivalent to Linux. Although Android is based on Linux, there are still big differences between Android and Linux.

The Linux we often talk about refers to the Linux distribution in most cases, that is, the GNU/Linux distribution. It includes not only the Linux kernel, but also a variety of system management software or application tool software, just like Windows is actually a combination of NT kernel and applications. It's just a coincidence that the name of the Linux distribution's kernel is Linux. Over time, many people confuse the Linux kernel with the Linux distribution. Software in Linux distributions usually only includes open source software that has been reviewed by the open source community, or closed source software that has been reviewed by commercial organizations.

Android corresponds to Android/Linux. There is no doubt that the system is also open source, but the problem is that the software installed on it is basically closed source, and there is basically no audit mechanism for these software. This alone can show that there is a big difference between Android and Linux distributions.

Android is not Linux

In addition to this point, Google allows the Android system to only run one Dalvik/ART (Java virtualization machine), and the usual Linux distribution can run multiple "Dalvik/ART" (here is an example, depending on the distribution, there will be gnome, LXQT, etc.). This is the fundamental difference between Android and Linux distributions.

The above content may involve some professional terms and may seem a bit confusing. The summary is that what we usually call the Android system cannot simply be equated with Linux. When we often talk about Linux security, we generally mean that the Linux kernel is relatively secure. Of course, some of it also refers to the security of Linux distributions. Since Android's approach to application software is different from that of Linux, the two cannot be generalized in terms of security.

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