A component in the Android ecosystem, vital for code reusability, is a collection of pre-compiled code (routines, functions, classes, etc.) that can be used by multiple applications. This component is deployed as a `.so` file and loaded into memory at runtime when an application requires its functions. For instance, if several apps need to perform complex mathematical calculations, a single component containing those calculations can be created and shared, rather than each application implementing them independently.
Employing this approach offers several advantages. It reduces the overall size of applications as common functionalities are not duplicated across them. It simplifies maintenance and updates; changes to the shared code only need to be implemented in one place, benefiting all applications using it. Furthermore, it enables code sharing between applications written in different programming languages, such as Java/Kotlin and C/C++, facilitating the use of native code for performance-critical tasks. Historically, this mechanism has been essential for building complex, feature-rich Android applications efficiently.
