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An Overview of The Android Architecture

The document provides an overview of the Android architecture including its software stack layers and components. It describes the Linux kernel, Android runtime, libraries, C/C++ libraries, and application framework and how they interact and support the development and execution of Android applications.

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mrudul mathews
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© © All Rights Reserved
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7 views

An Overview of The Android Architecture

The document provides an overview of the Android architecture including its software stack layers and components. It describes the Linux kernel, Android runtime, libraries, C/C++ libraries, and application framework and how they interact and support the development and execution of Android applications.

Uploaded by

mrudul mathews
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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An Overview of the Android

Architecture

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An Overview of the Android Architecture

❏ An open source and Linux-based Operating System for mobile devices such
as smartphones and tablet computers.
❏ Developed by the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, and other
companies.

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An Overview of the Android Architecture

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An Overview of the Android Architecture

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The Android Software Stack

❏ Android is structured in the form of a software stack comprising


❏ Applications
❏ An operating system
❏ Run-time environment
❏ Middleware
❏ Services
❏ Libraries.
❏ Each layer of the stack, and the corresponding elements within each layer,
are tightly integrated and carefully tuned to provide the optimal application
development and execution environment for mobile devices.

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The Android Software Stack

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The Linux Kernel

❏ Bottom of the Android software stack.


❏ Provides a level of abstraction between the device hardware and the upper
layers of the Android software stack.
❏ Provides
❏ preemptive multitasking
❏ low-level core system services such as memory, process and power
management
❏ providing a network stack and device drivers for hardware such as the
device display, Wi-Fi and audio.

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Android Runtime – ART

❏ When an Android app is built within Android Studio it is compiled into an


intermediate bytecode format (referred to as DEX format).
❏ When the application is subsequently loaded onto the device, the Android
Runtime (ART) uses a process referred to as Ahead-of-Time (AOT)
compilation.
❏ It translates the bytecode down to the native instructions required by the
device processor.
❏ This format is known as Executable and Linkable Format (ELF).

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Android Runtime – ART

❏ Each time the application is subsequently launched, the ELF executable


version is run.
❏ Results in faster application performance and improved battery life.
❏ This contrasts with the Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation approach used in older
Android implementations.
❏ Bytecode was translated within a virtual machine (VM) each time the
application was launched.

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Android Libraries

❏ Set of standard Java development libraries (providing support for such


general purpose tasks as string handling, networking and file manipulation)
❏ Also includes the Android Libraries
❏ These are a set of Java-based libraries that are specific to Android
development.
❏ Eg: application framework libraries in addition to those that facilitate
user interface building, graphics drawing and database access.

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Android Libraries

❏ Some key core Android libraries available to the Android developer are:
❏ android.app – Provides access to the application model and is the
cornerstone of all Android applications.
❏ android.content – Facilitates content access, publishing and messaging
between applications and application components.
❏ android.database – Used to access data published by content providers
and includes SQLite database management classes.
❏ android.graphics – A low-level 2D graphics drawing API including
colors, points, filters, rectangles and canvases.

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Android Libraries
❏ android.hardware – Presents an API providing access to hardware such as
the accelerometer and light sensor.
❏ android.opengl – A Java interface to the OpenGL ES 3D graphics rendering
API.
❏ android.os – Provides applications with access to standard operating system
services including messages, system services and inter-process
communication.
❏ android.media – Provides classes to enable playback of audio and video.
❏ android.net – A set of APIs providing access to the network stack. Includes
android.net.wifi, which provides access to the device’s wireless stack.

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Android Libraries

❏ android.print – Includes a set of classes that enable content to be sent to


configured printers from within Android applications.
❏ android.provider – A set of convenience classes that provide access to
standard Android content provider databases such as those maintained
by the calendar and contact applications.
❏ android.text – Used to render and manipulate text on a device display.
❏ android.util – A set of utility classes for performing tasks such as string
and number conversion, XML handling and date and time manipulation.

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Android Libraries

❏ android.view – The fundamental building blocks of application user


interfaces.
❏ android.widget - A rich collection of pre-built user interface
components such as buttons, labels, list views, layout managers, radio
buttons etc.
❏ android.webkit – A set of classes intended to allow web-browsing
capabilities to be built into applications.

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C/C++ Libraries

❏ Core libraries do not perform much of the actual work.


❏ Essentially Java “wrappers” around a set of C/C++ based libraries.
❏ Eg: When making calls to the android.opengl library to draw 3D graphics on
the device display, the library actually ultimately makes calls to the OpenGL
ES C++ library which, in turn, works with the underlying Linux kernel to
perform the drawing tasks.
❏ C/C++ Libraries functionalities:
❏ 2D and 3D graphics drawing
❏ Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication

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C/C++ Libraries
❏ SQLite database management
❏ Audio and video playback
❏ Bitmap and vector font rendering
❏ Display subsystem and graphic layer management and an
implementation of the standard C system library (libc).
❏ Access these libraries solely through the Java based Android core library
APIs.
❏ Direct access to these libraries: Android Native Development Kit (NDK)
❏ Call the native methods of non-Java or Kotlin programming languages
(such as C and C++) from within Java code using the Java Native
Interface (JNI).

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Application Framework

❏ A set of services that collectively form the environment in which Android


applications run and are managed.
❏ This framework implements the concept that Android applications are
constructed from reusable, interchangeable and replaceable components.
❏ This concept is taken a step further in that an application is also able to
publish its capabilities along with any corresponding data so that they can be
found and reused by other applications.

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Application Framework

❏ The Android framework includes the following key services:


❏ Activity Manager – Controls all aspects of the application lifecycle and
activity stack.
❏ Content Providers – Allows applications to publish and share data with
other applications.
❏ Resource Manager – Provides access to non-code embedded resources
such as strings, color settings and user interface layouts.
❏ Notifications Manager – Allows applications to display alerts and
notifications to the user.

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Application Framework

❏ View System – An extensible set of views used to create application


user interfaces.
❏ Package Manager – The system by which applications are able to find
out information about other applications currently installed on the
device.
❏ Telephony Manager – Provides information to the application about the
telephony services available on the device such as status and subscriber
information.
❏ Location Manager – Provides access to the location services allowing
an application to receive updates about location changes.

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Applications

❏ Located at the top of the Android software stack are the applications.
❏ These comprise both:
❏ Native applications provided with the particular Android implementation
(for example web browser and email applications).
❏ Third party applications installed by the user after purchasing the device.

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Thank You

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