The Component Framework is one of the key foundations for Fuchsia's usermode runtime environment. The original incarnation of components dates back to the inception of the Fuchsia OS and the initial commits in 2016. The framework has steadily evolved since then.
Last updated: August 2021
A high-level diagram of the system's component topology is shown below:
In addition, all unit tests with generated manifests are v2 components.
Presently there are two revisions of the Component Framework that exist on Fuchsia, which are referred to as Components v1 and Components v2.
Components v1 is largely comprised of:
appmgr, a program that manages the runtime environment for v1 components. appmgr implements the root of the v1 components tree, as well as some foundational services such as the Components v1 ELF runner and Loader service.sysmgr, a component that manages the so-called "sys" realm. sysmgr is launched by appmgr..cmx file format for v1 component manifests.fuchsia.sys.* FIDL library.Components v1 development reached its peak in 2018. In 2019, Fuchsia team began developing Component Framework v2.
Components v2 is largely comprised of:
appmgr. appmgr has become a v2 component itself, which serves as the parent of all v1 components still present in the system..cml file format for v2 component manifests.fuchsia.sys2.* FIDL library.In addition, both Components v1 and v2 use cmc (component manifest compiler), a build-time host tool that processes all formats of component manifest files.
Component manager launches appmgr, itself a v2 component, in order to manage v1 components. All v1 components on the system run under appmgr. Users may continue developing and maintaining v1 components while v2 migrations take place at their own pace.
Build configurations that use the Session Framework also include the session_manager component. All v1-backed capabilities the session needs are routed to the session_manager from appmgr.
Use this terminology when talking about the state of migrating a component and its tests from v1 to v2.
| The component | Tests that exercise it | |
|---|---|---|
| Fully migrated | has a .cml file and no .cmx fileruns as v2 in all product builds | All automated tests run the component as a v2 component |
| Partially migrated | has a .cml file and a .cmx fileruns as v1 in some product configurations but not others, or is guarded by a flag to do so for development purposes | Some automated tests exist in which the component runs as a v2 component, but others run it as v1 |
| Prototyped | runs as a v1 component in all product configurationshas a .cml file | All automated tests in CI/CQ run the component as v1there are tests with the component as v2, but they don't run in CI/CQ |
| Not migrated | does not have a .cml file | There are no tests that run the component as v2 |
“root_presenter is partially migrated but its tests are not migrated.”
“stash and its tests are fully migrated.”
“basemgr is a partially migrated component with partially migrated tests. Specifically, ...”
“setui_service was prototyped to v2 and it exposed some missing dependencies.”
Last updated: August 2021
Components v2 migrations are happening throughout the system. Any component that still has at least one .cmx file is a migration candidate.
For legacy sys realm components you may use the self-service migration guide. Multiple component owners have recently seen success in using this guide, including but not limited to:
Component migrations may take multiple incremental steps to complete due to dependencies between other components that have not been migrated yet. For example, a component and its tests can be migrated separately. For more details on the incremental stages, see terminology.
The final step for migrating a component from v1 to v2 typically involves replacing all .cmx files with equivalent .cml files. For detailed instructions on migrating a component and its tests, see the self-service migration guide.
Send code reviews to owners of the directories with the component definitions that you're changing, and to people listed below who volunteered to help with these migrations:
New volunteer? Please add yourself to the list!
Reach out for questions or for status updates: