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Excuse my ignorance but aren't app packages compiled ahead of time on Android anyway?
by WithinReason 4y ago
Excuse my ignorance but aren't app packages compiled ahead of time on Android anyway?
- londons_explore 4y agoPackages consist of a bunch of java-like bytecode, and some native code. Usually the native code is for video decode libraries, neural nets, openssl, javascript engines, speech recognition stuff etc. The bytecode is platform agnostic, but the native code isn't. When the app is installed or run for the first time, the bytecode is compiled on device and will run fine. But the native code from the package will have to be emulated if the app is to run. Since the native code might want to link with system libraries (libc etc), there needs to be a rather complex shim to keep everything working properly.