Comment by Moomoomoo309
6 days ago
ROM is to android what distro is to Linux. The term is used correctly here. An android ROM could refer to the stock OS, GrapheneOS, LineageOS, Pixel Experience, etc.
6 days ago
ROM is to android what distro is to Linux. The term is used correctly here. An android ROM could refer to the stock OS, GrapheneOS, LineageOS, Pixel Experience, etc.
GrapheneOS and other operating systems based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) are Linux distributions. None of those is a ROM. They're AOSP-based OSes. They're not read-only memory firmware or stored in read-only memory. Using the term ROM that way is very confusing to people who aren't part of communities historically using it that way. It's very misleading and propagates misconceptions. It's not simply about it not being technically accurate.
With immutable distros (see bootc or systemd-sysupgrade) the operating system itself is also only just a read only file system. Does that count as ROM too?
it's a term used for historical reasons, nobody is claiming it's accurately describing some technical property
In the context of GrapheneOS, ROM means read-only memory. GrapheneOS does security research on hardware and firmware where the term ROM is useful and very relevant to security. There are multiple ROMs used on devices including the boot ROM loading, verifying and running the SoC boot firmware from the SSD.
Most people aren't exposed to the Android modding communities where the term ROM is used to mean Android-based OS. It's confusing to the general public including technical people. It misleads people about what it is and directly leads to misconceptions which we keep needing to address. It's best to avoid using inaccurate terminology which creates unnecessary misconceptions. There isn't a good reason to insist on using it. We would appreciate if Roblox fixed their documentation to avoid using it.
Might as well just use the term "Android distr(o|ibution)" whenever talking about it. I think its also more self-explanatory vs "Android ROM" if you never heard of them before.
ROM is to android what an image file is to Linux. A distro is a collection of software and tools, more akin to an android OS.
GrapheneOS and other operating systems based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) are Linux distributions. None of those is a ROM. They're AOSP-based OSes. They're not read-only memory firmware or stored in read-only memory. Using the term ROM that way is very confusing to people who aren't part of communities historically using it that way. It's very misleading and propagates misconceptions. It's not simply about it not being technically accurate.