I'm talking about D-C growing unchecked, as in when apps are updated, installed, removed, etc. Unchecked as in the OS enforces no limits on it, so, despite being a "cache", it only writes new files to itself, it never cleans out old or unused cache files. It can re-generate them the moment they're needed, but it doesn't. Basically, the problem is, it keeps stale data lingering around the phone, unused, unwanted, and unable to delete without wiping the phone.
Also, as for size being irrelevant, why don't you go take a look at the size of
your data/dalvik-cache folder, and size it next to your data/app folder? Can you explain why dalvik-cache is so much larger than the apps it's supposedly "caching"?
Things I agree with, and hence am not arguing:
- that dalvik-cache is useful
- that dalvik-cache can be cleaned up
- that dalvik-cache is essential
- that dalvik-cache is large
- that dalvik-cache caches every installed apk file
- that dalvik-cache does not grow without user interaction, i.e. installing & launching a new app
This is what I have seen people mention, and am trying to explain against:
- that dalvik-cache grows even with no third party (user) apps installed (it creates cache files for system components as well, and those files exist in user-space)
- that dalvik-cache does not maintain itself, and will continually grow with every new app installed, and grows with every first-time-launched system app launched as well.
These are the things that have yet to be addressed by any reply in this topic (quote it if I'm wrong):
- that dalvik-cache has no limits, so it can eat up as much user-space as it wants
- that dalvik-cache does not clean up idle entries that haven't been activated in a long time (which could easily be re-generated if the app is launched)
- that dalvik-cache is a conflict of user-mode data space, being an "invisible" and un-editable data space that cannot be pruned or cleaned-up using any non-root utility
Objections?