What is a .SMALI file?
The .SMALI file extension is associated with Android Smali Assembly Language Files. These files are developer files written in Smali, which is the assembly language used by the Android Dalvik Virtual Machine. The Dalvik Virtual Machine is a part of the Android operating system that runs apps.
.SMALI files are typically generated by decompiling .DEX files. DEX, which stands for Dalvik Executable, files contain the code executed by Android apps packaged as .APK files. Decompiling these .DEX files into .SMALI files allows developers or other users to inspect the low-level code of an Android app. This can be useful for understanding how an app works, for debugging, or for modifying the app (often referred to as hacking).
To decompile a .DEX file into .SMALI files, you can use a tool called baksmali. Baksmali is part of a software package called smali, which is specifically designed for working with these types of files.
Once you have .SMALI files, you can open them using any text editor because they are essentially text files. Common text editors that can be used include Notepad++ on Windows, which can be enhanced with a Smali syntax highlighting addon to make reading and editing .SMALI files easier. This addon is available from the Android Cracking blog. On macOS, you can use Apple TextEdit or any other text editor to view these files.
It's interesting to note that the name "Smali" comes from the Icelandic word for assembler, reflecting the language's role in assembling code for the Android platform. The name of the Dalvik Virtual Machine is inspired by a village in Iceland named Dalvik, and "Baksmali," which is used for decompiling, means disassembler in Icelandic.
Verification
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