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Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

techcrunch.com

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Re: Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

#3

Post by JonSkeptic »

plackemacher wrote: post #2

I wish I could find more information about them. All I can find are videos showcasing the performance improvements but without any explanation. http://www.youtube.com/user/FlexyCore/videos

From what I can gather, it seems FlexyCore generates more efficient, architecture specific assembly code at build time. This is where the performance gains come from.

A little deeper reading shows that it does this through the Dalvik VM, the VM on all Android devices.

I think the creator can say it better than me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEAz9fRoDmA

Re: Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

#5

Post by nly »

JonSkeptic wrote: post #3
plackemacher wrote: post #2

I wish I could find more information about them. All I can find are videos showcasing the performance improvements but without any explanation. http://www.youtube.com/user/FlexyCore/videos

From what I can gather, it seems FlexyCore generates more efficient, architecture specific assembly code at build time. This is where the performance gains come from. A little deeper reading shows that it does this through the Dalvik VM, the VM on all Android devices. I think the creator can say it better than me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEAz9fRoDmA

So basically it caches the native code produced by the Dalvik VM? I'm surprised Dalvik doesn't already do this.

Re: Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

#6

Post by JonSkeptic »

nly wrote: post #5
JonSkeptic wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I can gather, it seems FlexyCore generates more efficient, architecture specific assembly code at build time. This is where the performance gains come from. A little deeper reading shows that it does this through the Dalvik VM, the VM on all Android devices. I think the creator can say it better than me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEAz9fRoDmA

So basically it caches the native code produced by the Dalvik VM? I'm surprised Dalvik doesn't already do this.

Hopefully, it will now.

Re: Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

#7

Post by pjmlp »

nly wrote: post #5
JonSkeptic wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I can gather, it seems FlexyCore generates more efficient, architecture specific assembly code at build time. This is where the performance gains come from. A little deeper reading shows that it does this through the Dalvik VM, the VM on all Android devices. I think the creator can say it better than me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEAz9fRoDmA

So basically it caches the native code produced by the Dalvik VM? I'm surprised Dalvik doesn't already do this.

Dalvik's development has been stalled since Android 2.3, no new JIT or GC improvements since them.

No more talks about it at Google IO, either.

Of course, this is also related to the Oracle's suit against Google.

I wonder if this means Google will reinvest in Dalvik, as I am betting KitKat will again only bring more Google APIs and nothing else.

Re: Google Acquires Android Performance Startup FlexyCore For A Reported $23 Million

#10

Post by devx »

Hoping it will appear in Android 5.0. Six months or so should be enough to implement this, right?

Also, they should probably acquire these guys, too:

http://www.genymotion.com/

The emulator is also one of Android's longstanding problems, and it would be nice if they fixed that once and for all, too.

I'm also hoping that with the arrival of powerful ARMv8 hardware in the couple of years, maybe they'll make their SDK for ARM, too, so it doesn't even need to be emulated in x86.

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