[PLUG] Can I get these Linux capabilities on Android?

[Mehul Ved]

On Sat, Oct 13, 2012 at 3:52 PM, Mayuresh <mayuresh at acm.org> wrote:
> 1. How easy/difficult it is to use xterm on such phones. Well, it seems to
> be an installable app on android, though don't know how usable it is with
> virtual keyboard occupying screen area. I occasionally use Xterm on N900,
> but it has a keyboard that can be pulled out which makes it relatively
> easy to use Xterm.

Terminal IDE[1] is a good choice. It gets in a lot of tools you'll be
familiar from your desktop bash environment. But, beware it's a heavy
package. So, if you are considering something like this do ensure that
your phone has good internal storage space. Atleast 2 GB of internal
storage is a safe bet. I've owned SGS and SGS2 with 8 and 16GB of
internal storage and consider 8 GB to be minimum I'd settle for.

> 2. Do I get crontab on android which I can configure using classical text
> specification? (and I am assuming you get vi editor.)

Using CM, you'll get vim too, IIRC. I haven't checked for crontab and
don't have my phone around right now so can't check.

> 3. Can I do NFS/sshfs mounts to/from android phone?

Yes, but not sure if all the stock kernels ship with NFS support so
you might need to root and flash alternate kernels or safer bet,
settle for CM. For sshfs, you can get apps from the market.

> 4. List can be long. So cutting it short with just one more - how similar
> / different is system administration on Android against Linux -
> particularly is there room for terminal based ways to do administration?

I didn't find it particularly useful. I do try to use it as and when
possible but still prefer using my laptop. But, really depends on how
deep you want to go with it. Quite a lot can be fiddled around with,
especially after rooting.

-- 
With Regards,
Mehul Ved

1. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spartacusrex.spartacuside&hl=en