Tencent/Shadow
Shadow
Shadow is an Android plugin framework designed to dynamically load and execute Android components and native libraries from external modules into a host application. It functions as a dynamic component loader that integrates activities, services, and broadcast receivers without requiring modifications to the host application code.
The system includes a native library loader to execute C/C++ binary files from plugin modules directly within the host process. It also features a module dependency manager that supports segmented loading and explicit dependency chains across multiple plugin packages.
The framework provides mechanisms for cross-module class sharing and component integration. It utilizes a custom class-loader hierarchy and context-wrapper injection to manage resource lookups and isolate plugin modules while maintaining access to host application classes.
Features
- Android Plugin Frameworks - Provides a framework for dynamically loading and executing Android components and native libraries from external modules.
- Native Extension Loading - Loads C/C++ binary files from plugin modules directly into the host process for execution.
- Native Plugin Loaders - Loads and executes C/C++ binary files from external plugin modules directly within the host process.
- Android App Modularization - Provides a framework for adding new features to an existing Android app via plugins to avoid monolithic builds.
- Dynamic Library Loading - Enables execution of external code and native C++ libraries at runtime without requiring a full application update.
- Dynamic Android Component Loading - Integrates activities, services, and broadcast receivers from remote plugins without modifying host application code.
- Native Binary Mapping - Maps external C/C++ libraries into the host process memory space to enable native code execution within plugins.
- Plugin Dependency Management - Manages incremental loading and explicit dependency chains across multiple plugin packages.
- Android Component Proxies - Uses proxy components to simulate manifest registration and route system callbacks from the host to plugin logic.
- Android Context Wrappers - Wraps the Android application context to redirect resource lookups and asset loading to plugin-specific internal storage.
- Class Loader Hierarchies - Implements a custom chain of class loaders to isolate plugin modules while allowing shared access to host application classes.
- Cross-Module Class Sharing - Allows separate plugin modules to access and interact with classes defined in the main host application.
- Runtime Plugin Module Injectors - Executes external plugin code dynamically through standard interfaces to ensure compatibility with restricted environments.
- Segmented Module Loading - Splits plugin functionality into multiple packages to allow incremental loading and explicit dependency management.
- Reflection-Free Runtime Execution - Executes plugin code without using Java reflection to bypass security restrictions and improve performance on Android.
