The Android Native Development Kit (NDK) provides a cross-compiling tool for compiling code written in C/ C++ can be compiled to ARM, or

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel, based on the 8086 microprocessor and its 8-bit-external-bus variant, the 8088. Th ...

native code In computer programming, machine code is computer program, computer code consisting of machine language instruction set architecture, instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary ...

(or their 64-bit variants) for Android. The NDK uses the

Clang Clang () is a compiler front end for the programming languages C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, and the software frameworks OpenMP, OpenCL, RenderScript, CUDA, SYCL, and HIP. It acts as a drop-in replacement for the GNU Compiler ...

compiler to compile C/C++. GCC was included until NDK r17, but removed in r18 in 2018.

Overview

Native libraries can be called from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

code running under the

Android Runtime Android Runtime (ART) is an application runtime environment used by the Android operating system. Replacing Dalvik, the process virtual machine originally used by Android, ART performs the translation of some of the application's bytecode i ...

using System.loadLibrary, part of the standard Android Java classes. Command-line tools can be compiled with the NDK and installed using adb. Android uses

Bionic Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 19 ...

as its

C library The C standard library, sometimes referred to as libc, is the standard library for the C programming language, as specified in the ISO C standard.ISO/ IEC (2018). '' ISO/IEC 9899:2018(E): Programming Languages - C §7'' Starting from the origina ...

, and the

LLVM LLVM, also called LLVM Core, is a target-independent optimizer and code generator. It can be used to develop a Compiler#Front end, frontend for any programming language and a Compiler#Back end, backend for any instruction set architecture. LLVM i ...

libc++ as its

C++ Standard Library The C standard library, sometimes referred to as libc, is the standard library for the C programming language, as specified in the ISO C standard.ISO/ IEC (2018). '' ISO/IEC 9899:2018(E): Programming Languages - C §7'' Starting from the origina ...

. The NDK also includes a variety of other APIs:

zlib zlib ( or "zeta-lib", ) is a software library used for data compression as well as a data format. zlib was written by Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler and is an abstraction of the DEFLATE compression algorithm used in their gzip file compre ...

compression,

OpenGL ES OpenGL for Embedded Systems (OpenGL ES or GLES) is a subset of the OpenGL computer graphics rendering application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D computer graphics such as those used by video games, typically hardware-accelerate ...

Vulkan Vulkan is a cross-platform API and open standard for 3D graphics and computing. It was intended to address the shortcomings of OpenGL, and allow developers more control over the GPU. It is designed to support a wide variety of GPUs, CPUs and o ...

graphics, OpenSL ES audio, and various Android-specific APIs for things like logging, access to cameras, or accelerating

neural network A neural network is a group of interconnected units called neurons that send signals to one another. Neurons can be either biological cells or signal pathways. While individual neurons are simple, many of them together in a network can perfor ...

s. The NDK includes support for CMake and its own ndk-build (based on GNU Make).

Android Studio Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Google's Android operating system, built on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA software and designed specifically for Android development. This is available for download on W ...

supports running either of these from

Gradle Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It manages tasks like compilation, packaging, testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (as well as JDK-based languages Kotlin, Groovy, Sc ...

. Other third-party tools allow integrating the NDK into

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

and

Visual Studio Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) developed by Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs including web site, websites, web apps, web services and mobile apps. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development ...

. For CPU profiling, the NDK also includes simpleperf which is similar to the Linux perf tool, but with better support for Android and specifically for mixed Java/C++ stacks.

References

{{Reflist Software development kits Android (operating system) development software