What is AAPT (Android Asset Packaging Tool) and how does it work?

Question

What does AAPT (Android Asset Packaging Tool) mean? How does it work?

Can I ship the .so file of one application in the APK file of another application

Answer 1

AAPT stands for Android Asset Packaging Tool. The Android Asset Packaging Tool (aapt) takes your application resource files, such as the AndroidManifest.xml file and the XML files for your Activities, and compiles them.This is a great tool which help you to view, create, and update your APKs (as well as zip and jar files). It can also compile resources into binary assets. It is the base builder for Android aplications. This tool is a piece of the SDK (and assemble framework) and permits you to see, make, and redesign Zip-perfect chronicles (zip, jolt, apk)

You can find it

..\android-sdk\build-tools\

1. aapt package, aapt add - Building Android Application Bundles (APKs)

2. aapt dump - Dumping information from an APK file via :

   • read a VersionCode

     aapt dump badging name.apk
     

   • Check Your Permissions

     aapt dump permissions name.apk
     

3. etc...

Read more here, here, here