Can I modify an application ON Android?

[EnglishStudent023]

Hello all. Is it correct: Can I modify an application ON Android?

About the context is a conversation between Android developers and the application that I'm taking about is installed.

ON preposition sounds right to me. But in the dictionary I see ON like OVER, instead IN preposition it's like INSIDE.

What is the correct: ON, IN, other?

 

[dojibear]

It depends on the noun. "Android" is an adjective.

We say on an Android phone, on the Android platform, or in the Android operating system.

We also say "Can I modify an Android "app" (or "application")".

 

[EnglishStudent023]

Thank you for your answer

Then I don't know exactly when I have to use: IN or ON. Is there a grammatical rule that explain it?

I used ON in the above sentence because it sounded naturally for me (it's my unique explanation).

 

[Edinburgher]

I disagree with doji about Android being an adjective here. I see it as a noun, the short form of the name of the platform or operating system.

Is there a grammatical rule that explain it?

Probably not. This is down to collective intuition and how it evolves in general use.
In this case I would be inclined to use on. "Can you do this on a Mac, ...on Linux, ...on Windows ...on Android?" Curiously, under may also be an option, though perhaps that's gone out of fashion now.
I'd use in if we were talking about a programming language. "How do you do this in C, ...in Java, ...in ML?"

 

[Myridon]

Android apps generally aren't written on the phone, however. You write them on a computer, test them in a phone simulator on the computer, then download them onto the phone.

 

[Egmont]

To me, it depends on whether you're talking about where the application runs or where you want to modify it.

"Can you modify this application in Android?" means "Do you have a source code editor and a compiler that run under Android, so you can carry out the modifications in the Android environment?" I would also accept "on" here. (I agree that one would be unlikely to do this on a phone, but it would be practical on a tablet - especially with an external keyboard.)

"Can you modify this Android application?" means "Are you able to modify this application, which runs under Android, in some way?" In that case I don't care if you modify it on a Windows, Linux, Macintosh or TRS-80 system, as long as the application will still run in the Android environment after you finish.

 

[EnglishStudent023]

Thank you so much for your replies

To me, it depends on whether you're talking about where the application runs or where you want to modify it.

"Can you modify this application in Android?" means "Do you have a source code editor and a compiler that run under Android, so you can carry out the modifications in the Android environment?" I would also accept "on" here. (I agree that one would be unlikely to do this on a phone, but it would be practical on a tablet - especially with an external keyboard.)

"Can you modify this Android application?" means "Are you able to modify this application, which runs under Android, in some way?" In that case I don't care if you modify it on a Windows, Linux, Macintosh or TRS-80 system, as long as the application will still run in the Android environment after you finish.

Then I was wrong with my sentence. The correct answer is that you said "Can I modify this Android application?", because I'm asking about if I'm able to modify X application (not in Android like my sentence seems to say), I don't care the Operating System to modify it.