Does Apache Felix work in the new Android RunTime (ART)?

Question

I know it is quite early to ask this question, but has anyone tried running Apache Felix on Android with the new ART enabled?

Apparently Dalvik on Android is going to be replaced by a new runtime environment, where dex code is pre-compiled at App installation rather than Just-in-time. Android currently supports dynamic loading of dex code wrapped inside a jar file. Apache Felix uses Android's Dex loading java classes to load dexed bundles. In the new ART, I am not sure whether these classes are going to be dropped, deprecated, or perhaps work differently in the future.

Android 4.4 (Kitkat) apparently has an option to toggle between ART and dalvik mode in the developer settings, but I am not able to test Felix on ART since I don't have a device running Android 4.4 yet. Has anyone tried it out?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I just got the Android 4.4 update on Nexus 4. I switched to ART in the developer settings, re-started the phone, and tried running Felix. It seems to be working ok in both dalvik and ART.