Question

Android is 32-bit ARM. wiki

Description:

1) So, 32/64 or 8/12/16 Bit compiler is available with D language if not it can be builded by a compiler, if i am not wrong?

2) Linux standard kernel: Libraries written in C and other languages can be compiled to ARM wtih D language i believe, not only D language also possible with C/C++.

According to Android wiki information starts my confusion:

• wiki: Modified version of the Linux kernel (its not linux but its modified linux, beause hardware compatibility? So i cant use RPM packaging? Because its not standard linux anymore?)

• wiki: While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik is a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU. J2ME support can be provided via third-party-applications.

Question: Why just Android is not written either with D or C/C++ languages?
Instead of dealing with all those mess, this is the only company proved that Bigtable they needed (world cant solve there issue yet) and Mobile platform also requires changes such as Android? Whats wrong with iPhone/Nokia implementation then?

Question: Why Android dont run JVM but they build a Java concept does alternative JVM processing, instead of doing same such as MeeGo or others.
Is that a marketing terms or is that a technical term? Can it not be written in C/C++ or D language only the whole Android? Instead of involving Java concept or Mess concepts?

if yes then Chromium-web browser why they used again C++? Why not just followed Java also for Chromium-web?

Its all about to learn how its getting used in practical life, to me again, its just to know why they did such mess for Android? Are we then learning programming languages in University wrong way (knowing later, oh Big Google just used Java for Android) ?

Thanks in advance, for your valuable advise on this.

Answer 1

Why just Android is not written either with D or C/C++ languages?

Because none of them is a fully managed language. D is garbage collected, but you can also do manual memory management … with all of the risks that that entails.

Also, because starting from a Java base (in the form of Apache Harmony, etc) meant that:

• Java developers would be able to transition to Android, and
• there would be less for the Android development team to implement.

However, as @Marchy points out, it wasn’t Google that made the original decision:

“… Google didn’t BUILD Android. [Android Inc] was a startup they bought, and as a startup you use whatever is out there and optimize to gain momentum FAST and with VERY limited resources. …“

Though obviously Google did have a hand, since (according to Wikipedia) Google helped finance Android Inc prior to the buyout.

Why Android dont run JVM but they build a Java concept does alternative JVM processing.

Ultimately, because the restrictions that Sun / Oracle places on the Java language and platform would have made it impossible to innovate in the way Google has done with Android. Specifically, Sun / Oracle won’t license vendors to implement Java SE on mobile platforms.

Are we then learning programming languages in University wrong way.

Maybe you did!!

But when I learned programming at University, it was in the full knowledge that I’d never use some of the languages I was taught about. For instance, I’ve never used Algol-60, Simula-67, SNOBOL or CDC assembly language since. But that did not invalidate the reasons that they were taught, or the valuable lessons I gained in learning them.