Android Lollipop's skeleton key is available and it's time to move the modules into the OS' rooms. An alpha build of the Xposed framework has been released to the public, though those new to modding should sit tight until more testing has been done and more bugs have been squashed.
Lollipop's Android Runtime (ART) has been out for well over a year, but rovo89, Xposed developer and distinguished member of XDA Developers forums, says the work on the Xposed project has often taken a back seat to other things. Well shortly after new of Xposed for Lollipop's impending release was announced on XDA Developers forum, the alpha build of the framework was finally made public.
For the uninitiated, the Xposed Framework opens rooted Android devices up to the installation of modules that can change the mobile OS' appearance or improve its performance. Instead of installing ROM, cooked and customized versions of a mobile OS in this sense, users can load modules of the modded software onto mobile devices.
Xposed for Lollipop will have a degree of backwards compatibility with existing modules, so those comfortable with swirling sprinkles and caramel onto their vanilla devices can begin to do so now.
"Many modules will actually work without any changes, especially those which modify the behavior of user apps," states XDA Developers. "Modules targeting the system behavior might need to be adjusted to the new Android framework code, which isn't caused by ART, but simply by architecture and code changes that happen between any two Android releases."
XDA Developers says the most notable change in the new framework's structure is the location of the code for system services, which has been given its own file. Modules affected by the move can be made whole by placing system service code in an area in which they'll look or by modifying them to scan for it in the new file.
There other improvements between the latest version of the Xposed framework and the previous release, which is why XDA Developers is releasing the current build in its alpha state. The consortium wants seasoned modders to test the current version of the Xposed framework before a more stable version is released, which is why noob modders are cautioned to wait for the next release.
"Because there have been huge changes since the last stable release that need to be tested by people who know how to use a recovery, escape from boot loops and report bugs properly," states XDA Developers. "I strongly advise newbies to wait until Xposed has been tested by enough experienced people.
