SDK

SDK stands for Software Development Kit, and it is a set of tools and components that provide developers with the necessary elements to create applications and software. SDKs are usually provided by technology vendors for specific development languages or platforms. SDKs are used to develop applications for an array of platforms, such as web, mobile, and desktop.

An SDK typically consists of a combination of libraries, APIs, documentation, debuggers, code samples, and other resources that are used to empower developers to create applications or products with a specific platform. SDKs provide an interface between the operating system or platform provider and the application code, making it easier to write an application for a particular platform. Most SDKs will include an Integrated Development Environment like Visual Studio or Xcode, a compiler, linker, and other tools.

Examples of SDKs:

• Android SDK – provides tools and APIs for developing Android applications.
• iOS SDK – provides tools and APIs for developing iOS applications.
• Microsoft .NET Framework SDK – provides tools and APIs for developing Windows applications.
• Windows Phone SDK – provides tools and API’s for developing Windows phone applications.

Use cases:

• Develop an embedded system that needs to access a specific platform library.
• Build an application specific API.
• Use a third-party API to access application data.
• Develop an application that runs on a specific platform.