Dalvik Executable
Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{FormatInfo |formattype=electronic |subcat=Executables |extensions={{ext|dex}}, {{ext|odex}} }} '''Dalvik Executable''' (DEX) is the form of executable code used in [[Android...") |
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* [http://davidehringer.com/software/android/The_Dalvik_Virtual_Machine.pdf The Dalvik Virtual Machine Architecture] | * [http://davidehringer.com/software/android/The_Dalvik_Virtual_Machine.pdf The Dalvik Virtual Machine Architecture] | ||
* [https://twitter.com/angealbertini/status/538079375527116800/photo/1 DEX format chart] | * [https://twitter.com/angealbertini/status/538079375527116800/photo/1 DEX format chart] | ||
| + | * [https://www.fortiguard.com/uploads/general/Hidex_Paper.pdf Playing Hide and Seek with Dalvik Executables] | ||
Revision as of 19:06, 6 December 2014
Dalvik Executable (DEX) is the form of executable code used in Android apps. It is code for a virtual machine architecture called the "Dalvik machine" (named after a fishing village in Iceland).
Android apps are typically written in Java, which compiles to Java virtual machine bytecode, which is then transformed into the Dalvik form; this creates several levels of indirection between the original program code and the actual native machine code of the hardware. A variant, "Optimized Dalvik Executable", transforms the code in ways that improve its efficiency. (The various layers of compiling and translating are done "Just In Time", making the system act as if it were using an interpreted language.)
The Dalvik software is open-source, but it has had legal issues of alleged infringement of patents and copyrights of Java; some litigation is still in progress.
Dalvik Executable is replaced with a newer format, ART (Android Runtime), in newer Android versions (from 5.0 "Lollipop").
