[HTC One X] raminjpr:
Noob's guide to ART(Android Run time)

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NOTE: This post is only for noobs, I haven't done any research on ART to talk technically about it, I'm just Zero at Codes...:P If anyone feels that I missed something important about it, you can write about it in comments (if it's easy, i will answer....if it's hard, i will wait for the answer too..:P)

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This post is written based on all the information I've read online,

ART --> Android Run time is considered to be the Dalvik V 2.0

Usually, We've been using Dalvik for Android command execution usually ... but with Android 4.4, Google tried to introduce the newer version of Dalvik --- which is popularly called as ART..(Take it as Dalvik 2.0)

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What is Dalvik and ART???

I must say it's something technical(I'm not a Dev/Programmer to explain perfectly), but in layman's term i can explain...

Usually Android Programs are written in Java, then converted to Java machine compatible code , which are finally converted to Dalvik compatible files, before installing into the Android device...thus Dalvik is been used till date for the running of apps..

Thus Dalvik has the control over the Speed of RAM, Storage and CPU floating operations..

So ART is basically "Dalvik 2.0" -- >> Obviously with ART the speed is improved by 10-20% over Dalvik...:).. Thus with the ART Evolution your phone will be no more laggy

This is the prime reason why people are moving to ART now..:)

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ART seems really good....So is there any Cons on installing ART???

Yeah ART is really good in terms of speed, saves memory...etc.etc..but just remember, ART is still in development stage and some apps are incompatible with ART, also some apps Force closes(FC) on ART, if your favorite app is incompatible, obviously you will move to Dalvik..So even Google warns users before installing it, because of the incompatibility with some apps, but no worry, if you don't like it, you can come back to Dalvik again.

How can i know whether the particular App is compatible with ART??

There is luckily a website, which gives the complete list of compatible and incompatible apps of ART (check the below link)

ART Compatible Apps List

How to Activate ART?

ART currently works in Android 4.4+ , go to the Settings ---> Developer options ---> (check for section named APPS) Select Runtime ---> Select the "Use ART" ---> Accept all the warnings --- it will reboot ur system ---> now go back to the developer options and check whether ur runtime is ART ...Enjoy..:)

If you can't see developer options (in your mobile settings) --->> go to the About phone --->> Click the build number 5-7 times ---> "Now you've become a Developer" tadaa..:P :P LOL

Conclusion on ART:

ART is the next gen of Dalvik, so obviously it will be fast and efficient...but just take note that it's still in Experimental stage, so be prepared to see some FC's and incompatibilities, but when you compare the CONS, still ART wins because of the smoothness...but still it's an individual preference...choose wisely..:)

UPDATE (30-12-13):

Better Explanation of ART by fellow XDA User: Souldrinker

Well, I'd say it's not really dalvik 2.0, but rather another approach to running the apps. Dalvik uses JIT (just-in-time) compilation which uses less memory when run (since only parts of the apps are compiled from byte code and read into memory at a time) and less space on the phone memory. ART on the other hands precompiles the apps to native code upon install, making the install take longer and use more space, but then goes faster and lighter on the cpu and reduces "micro-lag" since there's no need to jit compile, but is heavier on the memory.

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Feel Free to give your comments on this Thread...It's sole intention is to help the newbie's and also to avoid the repeated questions...I believe this post is straight forward and up-to the point.. If you like this post...just bomb the Thanks Button once..:)