where .apk file is placed in phone after installation

Question

I have following questions

1. Please explain about the installation procedure for android app.
2. What is the temporary folder location for .apk files,when we install an android app?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

APK is copied to /data/app of root. Data related to apk is generated in /data/data/app_name

You could have got enough articles on this on StackExchange after searching, for example:

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5147/the-installation-steps-of-android-package

Android: Understanding the APK installation process

Answer 2

Preinstalled applications are in

/system/app

folder. User installed applications are in /data/app. I guess you can't access unless you have a rooted phone. I don't have a non rooted phone here but try this code out:

public class Testing extends Activity {
    private static final String TAG = "TEST";
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        File appsDir = new File("/data/app");

        String[] files = appsDir.list();

        for (int i = 0 ; i < files.length ; i++ ) {
            Log.d(TAG, "File: "+files[i]);

        }
    }

see this video too to learn the work flow of .apk file installation

https://sites.google.com/site/io/inside-the-android-application-framework