A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of

software development Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development invol ...

tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a

software framework In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software, providing generic functionality, can be selectively changed by additional user-written code, thus providing application-specific software. It provides a standard ...

. They are normally specific to a hardware platform and operating system combination. To create applications with advanced functionalities such as advertisements, push notifications, etc; most application software developers use specific software development kits. Some SDKs are required for developing a platform-specific app. For example, the development of an

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

app on the Java platform requires a Java Development Kit. For iOS applications (apps) the iOS SDK is required. For Universal Windows Platform the

.NET Framework SDK Microsoft Windows SDK, and its predecessors Platform SDK, and .NET Framework SDK, are software development kits (SDKs) from Microsoft that contain documentation, header files, libraries, samples and tools required to develop applications for Mic ...

might be used. There are also SDKs that add additional features and can be installed in apps to provide analytics, data about application activity, and monetization options. Some prominent creators of these types of SDKs include Google,

Smaato Smaato is a digital ad tech platform and ad server. Smaato's self-serve omnichannel monetization solution gives publishers the ability to manage their entire ad stack in one place. Ad monetization technology lets publishers keep their content free ...

InMobi InMobi is an Indian multinational mobile advertising technology company, based in Bengaluru. Its mobile-first platform allows brands, developers and publishers to engage consumers through contextual mobile advertising. The company was found ...

, and Facebook.

Details

An SDK can take the form of

application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...

s (APIs) in the form of on-device libraries of reusable functions used to interface to a particular programming language, or it may be as complex as hardware-specific tools that can communicate with a particular embedded system. Common

tools A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

include debugging facilities and other utilities, often presented in an integrated development environment (IDE). SDKs may include sample software and/or technical notes along with documentation, and tutorials to help clarify points made by the primary reference material. SDKs often include licenses that make them unsuitable for building software intended to be developed under an incompatible license. For example, a proprietary SDK is generally incompatible with free software development, while a GPL-licensed SDK could be incompatible with proprietary software development, for legal reasons. However, SDKs built under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) are typically usable for proprietary development. In cases where the underlying technology is new, SDKs may include hardware. For example,

AirTag AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects (e.g. keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices, vehicles). To locate lost items, AirTags use Apple's crowds ...

's 2021

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

SDK included both the paying and the reading halves of the necessary hardware stack. The average

mobile app implements 15.6 separate SDKs, with gaming apps implementing on average 17.5 different SDKs. The most popular SDK categories for Android mobile apps are analytics and advertising. SDKs can be unsafe (because they are implemented within apps, yet run separate code). Malicious SDKs (with honest intentions or not) can violate users' data privacy, damage app performance, or even cause apps to be banned from Google Play or the App Store. New technologies allow app developers to control and monitor client SDKs in real time. Providers of SDKs for specific systems or

subsystems A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expressed ...

sometimes substitute a more specific term instead of ''software''. For instance, both Microsoft and Citrix provide a driver development kit (DDK) for developing

device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and ot ...

Examples

Examples of software development kits for various platforms include: * AmigaOS NDK *

Android NDK Code written in C/C++ can be compiled to ARM, or x86 native code (or their 64-bit variants) using the Android Native Development Kit (NDK). The NDK uses the Clang compiler to compile C/C++. GCC was included until NDK r17, but removed in r18 in 2 ...

* iOS SDK * Java Development Kit * Java Web Services Development Pack *

Microsoft Windows SDK Microsoft Windows SDK, and its predecessors Platform SDK, and .NET Framework SDK, are software development kits (SDKs) from Microsoft that contain documentation, header files, libraries, samples and tools required to develop applications for Micr ...

VaxTele SIP Server SDK VaxTele SIP Server SDK (Software Development Kit) is a complete development toolkit, which allows software vendors and Internet telephony service providers (ITSP) to develop SIP Server and (SIP) Session Initiation Protocol based VoIP systems for Mic ...

* Visage SDK *

Vuforia Augmented Reality SDK Vuforia is an augmented reality software development kit (SDK) for mobile devices that enables the creation of augmented reality applications. It uses computer vision technology to recognize and track planar images and 3D objects in real time. This ...

Windows App SDK Windows App SDK (formerly known as Project Reunion) is a software development kit (SDK) from Microsoft that targets the development of native desktop applications on Windows 11 and Windows 10 back to version 1809. Windows App SDK does not replac ...

* Xbox Development Kit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Software Development Kit Computer libraries Software development

Details

Examples

See also

References