imported>Citation bot: Added date. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Whoop whoop pull up | Category:Desktop environments based on GTK | #UCB_Category 5/13

2024-11-20T17:45:38Z

Added date. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Whoop whoop pull up | Category:Desktop environments based on GTK | #UCB_Category 5/13

New page

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}

The '''Access Linux Platform''' ('''ALP''') is a discontinued [[open-source software]] based [[operating system]], once referred to as a "next-generation version of the [[Palm OS]]," for mobile devices developed and marketed by [[Access Co.]], of [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]. The platform included execution environments for [[Java (programming language)|Java]], classic Palm OS, and [[GTK+]]-based native [[Linux]] applications. ALP was demonstrated in devices<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Reference design targets Linux mobile phones|url=http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9247878814.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303084304/http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9247878814.html|archivedate=March 3, 2009|access-date=|website=Linuxdevices.com\date= August 7, 2007}}</ref> at a variety of conferences, including [[3GSM]],<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=February 12, 2007|title=Access Linux Platform on Display at 3GSM|url=https://www.engadget.com/2007/02/12/access-linux-platform-on-display-at-3gsm/|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206191044/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/12/access-linux-platform-on-display-at-3gsm/|archivedate=December 6, 2012|access-date=|website=[[Engadget]]|df=mdy}}</ref> [[LinuxWorld Conference and Expo|LinuxWorld]],<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=August 20, 2006|title=Access Linux Platform at LinuxWorld SF|url=http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8921/access-linux-platform-at-linuxworld-sf/|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209183903/http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8921/access-linux-platform-at-linuxworld-sf/|archivedate=February 9, 2014|access-date=|website=Palminfocenter.com|df=mdy}} </ref> [[GUADEC]], and Open Source in Mobile.

The ALP was first announced in February 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.access-company.com/ |title=Access and PalmSource Announce the Access Linux Platform |work=[[Access Co.|Access]]/[[PalmSource]] [[press release]] |date=February 14, 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901134714/http://www.access-company.com/ |archivedate=September 1, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref> The initial versions of the platform and [[software development kit]]s were officially released in February 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.access-company.com/ |title=Access Releases Access Linux Platform PDK and SDK to Licensees and Developers |work=[[Access Co.|Access]] [[press release]] |date=February 12, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901134714/http://www.access-company.com/ |archivedate=September 1, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref> There was a coordinated effort by Access, Esteemo, [[NEC]], [[NTT DoCoMo]], and [[Panasonic]] to use the platform as a basis for a ''shared platform'' implementing a revised version of the i.mode Mobile Oriented Applications Platform ([[MOAP]]) (L) [[application programming interface]]s (APIs), conforming to the specifications of the [[LiMo Foundation]]. The first smartphone to use the ALP was to be the ''Edelweiss'' by Emblaze Mobile that was scheduled for mid-2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edelweiss-mobile.com/ |website=Edelweiss-mobile.com |date= |accessdate=October 20, 2009|title=Edelweiss}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kairer |first=Ryan |url=http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/7367/edelweiss-the-first-alp-powered-smartphone/ |title=Review of the Edelweiss mobile phone at Palm Infocenter |website=Palminfocenter.com |date=October 13, 2008 |accessdate=October 20, 2009|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220240/http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/7367/edelweiss-the-first-alp-powered-smartphone/ |archivedate=October 4, 2013}}</ref> However, it was shelved before release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9906/alppowered-emblaze-edelweiss-shelved-in-favor-of-monolith/ |title=ALP-powered Emblaze Edelweiss shelved in favor of Monolith? |first=Kris |last=Keilhack |date=September 19, 2009 |website=PalmInfocenter}}</ref> The First Else (renamed from Monolith<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The First Else (aka The Monolith)|url=http://www.behance.net/Gallery/The-First-Else-(aka-The-Monolith)/359239|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206211823/http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-First-Else-%28aka-The-Monolith%29/359239|archivedate=December 6, 2013|access-date=|website=}}</ref>) smartphone, that was being developed by [[Sharp Corporation]] in cooperation with Emblaze Mobile and seven other partners, was scheduled for 2009, but was never released and officially cancelled in June 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Monolith Project|url=http://www.emblazemobile.com/project.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303181006/http://www.emblazemobile.com/project.html|archivedate=March 3, 2011|accessdate=October 20, 2009|website=|publisher=Emblaze Mobile}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ricker |first=Thomas |title=RIP: Emblaze kills First Else |date=June 30, 2010 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/rip-emblaze-kills-first-else/ |publisher=Engadget |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203194340/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/30/rip-emblaze-kills-first-else/ |archivedate=December 3, 2013}}</ref> The platform is no longer referenced on Access's website,<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Access|url=http://gl.access-company.com/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701101459/http://gl.access-company.com/|archive-date=July 1, 2014|access-date=August 10, 2014|website=}}</ref> but Panasonic and NEC released a number of ALP phones for the Japanese market between 2010 and 2013.

== Look and feel ==
The [[user interface]] was designed with similar general goals to earlier Palm OS releases, with an aim of preserving the ''Zen of Palm'', a design philosophy centered on making the applications as simple as possible.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=June 13, 2003|title=Zen of Palm|url=http://www.accessdevnet.com/docs/zenofpalm/ZenFront.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310232907/http://www.accessdevnet.com/docs/zenofpalm/ZenFront.html|archivedate=March 10, 2013|accessdate=October 20, 2009|website=|publisher=Accessdevnet.com}}</ref> Other aspects of the interface included a task-based orientation rather than a file/document orientation as is commonly found on desktop systems.

The appearance of the platform<ref>[http://www.mobilelinuxinfo.com/392/access-linux-platform-screenshots/ New Access Linux Platform Screenshots], Mobilelinuxinfo.com, August 9, 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104022347/http://www.mobilelinuxinfo.com/392/access-linux-platform-screenshots/ |date=January 4, 2011 }}</ref> was intended to be highly customizable to provide differentiation for specific devices and contexts.

In the last releases, they went for a much more modern look with gesture support, and were no longer close to the Palm OS.

== Base frameworks ==
Similarly to [[Maemo]], Nokia's internet tablet framework, ALP was based on components drawn from the [[GNOME]] project, including the [[GTK+]] and [[GStreamer]] frameworks. A variety of other core components were drawn from mainstream open source projects, including [[BlueZ]], [[Matchbox (window manager)|matchbox]], [[cramfs]], and others. These components were licensed under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL), [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] (LGPL), and other [[open source license]]s, meaning that ALP was a ''free'' or ''open'' environment on the software level.

Several components from ALP were released under the [[Mozilla Public License]] as The Hiker Project.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Framework aims to commercialize mobile Linux apps|url=http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6832325233.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603003603/http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS6832325233.html|archivedate=June 3, 2009|access-date=|website=}}, Linuxdevices.com, December 22, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.access-company.com/news/press/ACCESS/2007/20061221_hiker.html Access Releases Hiker Application Framework to Open Source Community], [[Access Co.|Access]] [[press release]], December 12, 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205103947/http://www.access-company.com/news/press/ACCESS/2007/20061221_hiker.html |date=February 5, 2012 }}</ref> These components addressed issues of application life-cycle, intertask communication, exchange and use of structured data, security, time and event-based notifications, and other areas common to the development of applications for mobile devices.

== Application development ==
The ALP presented standard APIs for most common operations, as defined by the standards for Portable Operating System Interface ([[POSIX]]) and [[Linux Standard Base]] (LSB). However, neither standard addresses telephony, device customizing, messaging, or several other topics, so several other frameworks and APIs were defined by Access for those.

Applications for ALP could be developed as Linux-native code in [[C (programming language)|C]] or [[C++]], as legacy [[Palm OS]] applications (which run in the ''Garnet VM'' emulation environment), or in [[Java (programming language)|Java]]. Further execution environments were supported via the development of a ''launchpad'' used by the Application Manager (part of the Hiker framework).

The ALP SDK used an [[Eclipse (software)|Eclipse]]-based [[integrated development environment]] (IDE), with added plug-ins, as did its predecessor Palm OS development environment. The compilers used were embedded [[application binary interface]] (EABI) enabled [[ARM architecture|ARM]] versions of the standard [[GNU Compiler Collection]] (GCC) tool chain.

== Security ==
The ALP used a combination of a user-space policy-based security framework and a kernel-space [[Linux Security Modules|Linux security module]] to implement fine-grained access controls. The components for ALP's security implementation have been released as part of the Hiker framework. Controls were based on signatures and certificates; unsigned applications can be allowed access to a predefined set of ''safe'' APIs.

== Devices ==

Panasonic cellular phones with ALP:
* P-01E,
* P-01F,
* P-01G,
* P-01H,
* P-02B,
* {{ill|P-03C|ja|P-03C}}
* P-03D,
* P-04C,
* {{ill|P-05C|ja|P-05C}}
* P-05B,
* P-05C,
* P-06B,
* P-06C,
* P-07B

NEC cellular phones with ALP:
* N-01B,
* N-01C,
* N-01E,
* N-01F,
* N-01G,
* N-02C,
* N-02D,
* N-03D,
* N-04B,
* N-05B,
* N-05C,
* N-06B,
* N-07B,
* N-07E,
* N-08B

== See also ==
* [[Moblin project]]
* [[Palm webOS]]
* [[Ubuntu for Android]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.access-company.com/products/platforms/linux/alp.html |title=Archive of Official website |accessdate=2011-11-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102161909/http://www.access-company.com/products/platforms/linux/alp.html |archivedate=November 2, 2011 |df=mdy }}

{{Mobile operating systems}}
{{Linux kernel}}

[[Category:Discontinued operating systems]]
[[Category:Embedded Linux]]
[[Category:Mobile Linux]]
[[Category:Palm OS]]
[[Category:Desktop environments based on GTK]]

Access Linux Platform - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Added date. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Whoop whoop pull up | Category:Desktop environments based on GTK | #UCB_Category 5/13