What Is APK File Format?

This section describes the Android application package (APK) file, which is really a ZIP archive file that holds all binary codes, resources and other data required by the Android application.

What Is APK File Format? APK file format is used for Android application package files to distribute and install application software and middleware onto Google's Android operating system.

APK files must have the .apk file extension.

The MIME type associated with APK files is application/vnd.android.package-archive.

APK files are really ZIP archive files. You can open APK files with WinZIP on Windows systems.

APK files are usually contains the following folders:

classes.dex - The DEX file containing program classes compiled in the
   DEX file format understandable by the Dalvik virtual machine

resources.arsc - The ARSC file containing pre-compiled resources

AndroidManifest.xml - An additional Android manifest file, describing
   the name, version, access rights, referenced library files for the
   application.

META-INF - Folder with the following 3 files:
   MANIFEST.MF: the Manifest file
   CERT.RSA: The certificate of the application.
   CERT.SF: The list of resources and SHA-1 digest;

res - Folder containing resources not compiled into resources.arsc

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Installing JDK 1.8 on Windows System

 Installation of Android SDK R24 and Emulator

 Installing Apache Ant 1.9 on Windows System

 Developing First Android Application - HelloAndroid

Android Application Package (APK) Files

What Is APK File Format?

 Android PDF Viewer APK File Contents

 Installing Android PDF Viewer APK File

 Copy PDF File to Android Emulator's File System

 Installing Adobe Reader APK File

 Android Debug Bridge (adb) Tool

 Android File Systems

 AboutAndroid - Application to Retrieve System Information

 android.app.Activity Class and Activity Lifecycle

 View Objects and Layout Resource Files

 Using "adb logcat" Command for Debugging

 Build Process and Package File Content

 Building Your Own Web Browser

 Android Command Line Shell

 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Mini Tablet

 USB Debugging Applications on Samsung Tablet

 Android Tablet - LG-V905R

 USB Debugging Applications on LG-V905R Tablet

 Android Phone - LG-P925g

 USB Debugging Applications on LG-P925g Phone

 Archived Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB