Research On Android Dynamic Module Loading Technique Based On The OSGi

In recent years, mobile Internet is booming, the smartphone is more and more popular.Mobile phone is no longer a simple tool to communicate, the users move the way of surfing theInternet from PCs to mobile devices. All kinds of mobile applications emerge in endlessly, thecompetition of the mobile software market is more and more fierce. At the same time, the usersare no longer satisfied with the inflexible traditional applications, and start to pursue thepersonalized applications. In order to meet the demands of users, and adapt to the competitiveenvironment of the mobile software market, this paper puts forward the technique of dynamicmodule loading based on the Android platform, this technique realizes the modular developmentof the Android platform, turns the application into a host program and some module programs.The host program interacts with the function modules, and the function modules are independentof each other. This technique reduces the coupling of application development, and it is moreconducive to the developers work together to develop more flexible applications.To realize the technique, Windows Dynamic Link Library, Embedded Linux DynamicLoading and Java Dynamic Loading Mechanism are researched and compared, the OSGitechnology is also deeply researched, this paper concludes that the OSGi technology is suitablefor the implementation of the dynamic module loading on the Android platform. Apache Felix,Equinox and Knopflerfish, the OSGi open source framework implementations, are compared,this paper selects the Knopflerfish framework which is combined with the Android platform,designs and realizes a simple framework of dynamic module loading.This framework bases on the OSGi technology. The execution environment layer of theOSGi framework and the Android platform are compared, they are similar. According to themethods of the Knopflerfish framework, the functions of the module layer, the life cycle layer,and the service layer in the OSGi framework are modified and expanded, to make it adapt to theAndroid platform.The framework is tested on a project, it is validated the achievement of the dynamic module loading and unloading at runtime. It can add or remove function modules, and doesn’tneed to be recompiled. This framework reduces the complexity and coupling of the softwaredevelopment, and effectively improves the development efficiency, reduces the cost ofdevelopment, improves the reusability of code. The applications are more flexible and meet theusers’ demand for personalized applications.