Inside Android: Context, Binder IPC, Zygote
summary
Tapping an app icon sends a startActivity to ATMS which consults the package manager, asks AMS if the process exists, and if not the AMS requests Zygote to fork or hand back a prewarmed USAP pool child; fork uses copy-on-write so framework pages stay shared. SystemServer (forked from Zygote) hosts AMS and the post‑Android 10 split ATMS. Lifecycle commands travel over Binder via IActivityTaskManager/IApplicationThread; the child specializes, ActivityThread sets up the main looper, applicationContext is created and application.onCreate runs — yielding fast starts and big memory savings.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Android internals research intro
- 2:08What happens when tapping an app icon
- 8:54Binder IPC framework
- 12:46System server and services
- 16:06App to system server communication
- 20:21App launch process steps
- 25:43Zygote and process creation
- 26:25Zygote during boot
- 31:23Q&A
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