Chilkat Supports 16K Android Page Sizes
Chilkat version 9.5.0.99 and later supports 16K page sizes for Android.
On Android, the page size is the basic unit of memory management in the kernel and hardware (MMU – memory management unit). Traditionally, Android (like Linux) used 4 KB pages, but newer devices and builds can support 16 KB page sizes.
Here’s a brief explanation:
- What it means:
A
16K page sizemeans that each virtual memory page is 16 kilobytes instead of the traditional 4 KB. All memory mapping, allocation, and protection are done in chunks of 16 KB.
- Performance trade-offs: Larger pages reduce the number of page table entries needed, which can improve performance for apps with large memory usage (less overhead and fewer TLB misses).
- Memory overhead: But they also increase memory waste for small allocations, since even a small object may take up an entire 16 KB page.
- Compatibility: Some apps (especially older ones, or those with native code or low-level memory assumptions) may break if they assume a 4 KB page size. That’s why Google has emphasized compatibility testing for 16K devices.
16K pages are being adopted in newer Android devices (especially with ARM64 chips) as a middle ground between 4 KB and 64 KB pages, balancing compatibility and performance.
In short: Android 16K page size means the OS and apps work with 16 KB memory chunks at the lowest level, improving efficiency for large workloads but requiring app compatibility updates.