Eric (lol@safetymail.info) on 1/26/12 wrote:
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>I agree that Intel's decision to support ARM code through emulation carries with
>it significant risks, especially if it eases off the pressure on developers to provide
>native x86 binaries (for those applications that contain native ARM code today).
>However that could be alleviated through the leverage that Intel seems to have on
>Google and the vast resources that both companies have available to sift through
>the applications on Android Market and translate the native code in them (with the
>objective of creating a fully transparent experience to the user as far as different
>ISAs go). That is as long as Intel takes the problem seriously, which I suspect they do.


Are you talking about translating the binaries in the app stores, after they've been compiled to ARM code but before they are downloaded by the end user? Has this sort of thing ever been tried before? With all the different versions of Android and multiple development environments, this seems like it could be even worse if the inherent complexity of the situation rears its ugly head in terms of crashes or various bugs. The end users think they are getting "native" apps, but are not.

This seems like it would be a much more manageable task if it were conducted in a smaller solution space. If it were Apple trying to do it, I might buy this as a workable solution. One app store with a review process that maintains tight control over how the apps function, only one development environment, almost all apps fully tested on the latest version of the OS...