I am trying to install a system app from my java code, and so far, I haven't had any success.
Following is what I have done so far:
android:sharedUserId="android.uid.system"
in the Manifest.I have been trying (and trying, and then some more) for Runtime.getRuntime.exec("su")
. I intend to mount the system partition as rw
, do a cat
for the apk, and then make system partition ro
. Following is the list of commands:
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system<br>
cat /sdcard/application.apk > /system/app/application.apk<br>
mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system<br><br>The application.apk here is the app being installed from the installer app. This app is also signed with platform key, and has the sharedUserId configured.
INSTALL_PACKAGES
permission in the manifest.I have tried a number of variations of the exec("") format, including using 'su -c'
with every command. I have gotten the Broken Pipe exception and Security exception. Sometimes, I don't get an exception, but the file isn't copied.
Please let me know what I am missing here. Has anyone got this working?
Thanks!
I kept on digging, and here are the results:
/* Until we have something better, only root and the shell can use su.*/ myuid = getuid(); if (myuid != AID_ROOT && myuid != AID_SHELL) { fprintf(stderr,"su: uid %d not allowed to su\n", myuid); return 1; }
ChainsDD (SuperUser) and cyanogen mod get around this by implementing their own su.c: https://github.com/CyanogenMod/android_system_su/blob/master/su.c
What's special about /system/app
? It seems that it is the fact that the partition is read-only on non-rooted devices, preventing modification/uninstall of applications put there. https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/17871/what-are-the-differences-between-a-system-app-and-user-app
An app signed with platform key and with sharedUserId = system
is 'good enough' for my purposes, I don't specifically have to copy it to /system/app.
I am accepting this as answer for now.
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