Android類加載器（DexClassLoader和PathClassLoader）

對於類加載其實我們用到最多的應該就是PathClassLoader和DexClassLoader
那麼這個兩個classLoader應該有什麼區別呢？

這面我看了api5.1.1和api8.1.0的源碼，api5.1.1是不一樣，在api8.1.0其實就一樣了，兩個classLoader構造已經沒什麼區別了。

關於答案，大家的回答應該是 PathClassLoader 是用來加載已經安裝的 apk 的，DexClassLoader 是用來加載存儲空間的 dex / apk 文件的，網上大部分文章中也都是這樣講解的。

這樣理解應該是不對的，

其實PathClassLoader 和 DexClassLoader 都能加載外部的 dex／apk，只不過區別是 DexClassLoader 可以指定 optimizedDirectory，也就是 dex2oat 的產物，ELF格式的oat文件（ART虛擬機）。PathClassLoader 只能使用系統默認位置。但是這個 optimizedDirectory 在 Android 8.1.0 以後也被捨棄了，只能使用系統默認的位置了。

我們可以看下源碼：

api 5.1.1

public class DexClassLoader extends BaseDexClassLoader {
    /**
     * Creates a {@code DexClassLoader} that finds interpreted and native
     * code.  Interpreted classes are found in a set of DEX files contained
     * in Jar or APK files.
     *
     * <p>The path lists are separated using the character specified by the
     * {@code path.separator} system property, which defaults to {@code :}.
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     *     resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     *     defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param optimizedDirectory directory where optimized dex files
     *     should be written; must not be {@code null}
     * @param libraryPath the list of directories containing native
     *     libraries, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}; may be
     *     {@code null}
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public DexClassLoader(String dexPath, String optimizedDirectory,
            String libraryPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, new File(optimizedDirectory), libraryPath, parent);
    }
}

public class PathClassLoader extends BaseDexClassLoader {
    /**
     * Creates a {@code PathClassLoader} that operates on a given list of files
     * and directories. This method is equivalent to calling
     * {@link #PathClassLoader(String, String, ClassLoader)} with a
     * {@code null} value for the second argument (see description there).
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     * resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     * defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public PathClassLoader(String dexPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, null, null, parent);
    }
    /**
     * Creates a {@code PathClassLoader} that operates on two given
     * lists of files and directories. The entries of the first list
     * should be one of the following:
     *
     * <ul>
     * <li>JAR/ZIP/APK files, possibly containing a "classes.dex" file as
     * well as arbitrary resources.
     * <li>Raw ".dex" files (not inside a zip file).
     * </ul>
     *
     * The entries of the second list should be directories containing
     * native library files.
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     * resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     * defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param libraryPath the list of directories containing native
     * libraries, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}; may be
     * {@code null}
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public PathClassLoader(String dexPath, String libraryPath,
            ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, null, libraryPath, parent);
    }
}

api 8.1.0

public class DexClassLoader extends BaseDexClassLoader {
    /**
     * Creates a {@code DexClassLoader} that finds interpreted and native
     * code.  Interpreted classes are found in a set of DEX files contained
     * in Jar or APK files.
     *
     * <p>The path lists are separated using the character specified by the
     * {@code path.separator} system property, which defaults to {@code :}.
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     *     resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     *     defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param optimizedDirectory this parameter is deprecated and has no effect
     * @param librarySearchPath the list of directories containing native
     *     libraries, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}; may be
     *     {@code null}
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public DexClassLoader(String dexPath, String optimizedDirectory,
            String librarySearchPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, null, librarySearchPath, parent);
    }
}

public class PathClassLoader extends BaseDexClassLoader {
    /**
     * Creates a {@code PathClassLoader} that operates on a given list of files
     * and directories. This method is equivalent to calling
     * {@link #PathClassLoader(String, String, ClassLoader)} with a
     * {@code null} value for the second argument (see description there).
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     * resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     * defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public PathClassLoader(String dexPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, null, null, parent);
    }
    /**
     * Creates a {@code PathClassLoader} that operates on two given
     * lists of files and directories. The entries of the first list
     * should be one of the following:
     *
     * <ul>
     * <li>JAR/ZIP/APK files, possibly containing a "classes.dex" file as
     * well as arbitrary resources.
     * <li>Raw ".dex" files (not inside a zip file).
     * </ul>
     *
     * The entries of the second list should be directories containing
     * native library files.
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     * resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     * defaults to {@code ":"} on Android
     * @param librarySearchPath the list of directories containing native
     * libraries, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}; may be
     * {@code null}
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public PathClassLoader(String dexPath, String librarySearchPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(dexPath, null, librarySearchPath, parent);
    }
}

public class BaseDexClassLoader extends ClassLoader {
    /**
     * Hook for customizing how dex files loads are reported.
     *
     * This enables the framework to monitor the use of dex files. The
     * goal is to simplify the mechanism for optimizing foreign dex files and
     * enable further optimizations of secondary dex files.
     *
     * The reporting happens only when new instances of BaseDexClassLoader
     * are constructed and will be active only after this field is set with
     * {@link BaseDexClassLoader#setReporter}.
     */
    /* @NonNull */ private static volatile Reporter reporter = null;
    private final DexPathList pathList;
    /**
     * Constructs an instance.
     * Note that all the *.jar and *.apk files from {@code dexPath} might be
     * first extracted in-memory before the code is loaded. This can be avoided
     * by passing raw dex files (*.dex) in the {@code dexPath}.
     *
     * @param dexPath the list of jar/apk files containing classes and
     * resources, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}, which
     * defaults to {@code ":"} on Android.
     * @param optimizedDirectory this parameter is deprecated and has no effect
     * @param librarySearchPath the list of directories containing native
     * libraries, delimited by {@code File.pathSeparator}; may be
     * {@code null}
     * @param parent the parent class loader
     */
    public BaseDexClassLoader(String dexPath, File optimizedDirectory,
            String librarySearchPath, ClassLoader parent) {
        super(parent);
        this.pathList = new DexPathList(this, dexPath, librarySearchPath, null);
        if (reporter != null) {
            reporter.report(this.pathList.getDexPaths());
        }
    }