All About Android, Google`s New Mobile Operating System - Features continued
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Android has an application frameworkthat allows developers to reuse and replace components. It has a set of core applications, including an SMS program, email client, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. These applications are all developed in Java. As previously stated, Android uses a virtual machine, known as Dalvik, which is optimized for mobile devices. Android's developers wrote the code to ensure that a device can flawlessly operate on multiple VMs. The Dalvik is register-based, and operates classes that are compiled by Java.
Android's application framework includes a resource manager that enables developers to access non-code resources, including layout files, localized strings, and graphics. Developers can use Views, which is extensible and rich, to create an application that includes buttons, grids, lists, and text boxes. Developers can also take advantage of the Notification Manager, which allows all applications to show custom alerts in the status bar. Finally, they can use the Activity Manager to manage applications' life cycles.
Androidcomes with an integrated browser that is based on the open source Webkit engine. You can also take advantage of Android's graphics; they are based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification. Android also comes with SQLite, which is used for data storage.
For developers who are concerned about media compatibility, Android supports the following formats: GIF, PNG, JPG, AAC, AMR, MP3, MPEG4, and H.264. Android supports WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, GSM telephony, and EDGE. Its rich development environment consists of memory and performance profiling, debugging tools, a device emulator, and a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE.
Android comesequipped with libraries that are based on C/C++. Some of Android's components use these libraries. Some of the core libraries that are found in Android include FreeType, SGL, Surface Manager, Media Libraries, SGL, 3D libraries, and LibWebCore.
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