"A current discussion involving developers from the Android
project gives some insight into where this disconnect comes
from.
"Android, of course, is Google's platform for mobile telephones.
The initial Android stack was developed behind closed doors; the
code only made it out into the world when the first deployments
were already in the works. The Android developers have done a lot
of kernel work, but very little code has made made the journey into
the mainline. The code which has been merged all went into the
staging tree without a whole lot of initiative from the Android
side. Now, though, Android developer Arve Hjonnevag is making an
effort to merge a piece of that project's infrastructure through
the normal process. It is not proving to be an easy ride.
"The most controversial bit of code is a feature known as
"wakelocks." In Android-speak, a "wakelock" is a mechanism which
can prevent the system from going into a low-power state. In brief,
kernel code can set up a wakelock with something like this:"
