Tech
What is a mobile SDK?
January 6, 2023
An SDK - or Software Development Kit - is a downloadable set of tools, which developers use to add specific functionality more easily to their applications. These would typically be developed and maintained by a company to allow developers easy access to their services, such as payment gateways, ad networks or cloud services.
Everything you need to add the service to an app is contained in the SDK: this will typically mean there will be libraries, sample code, tools documentation and, APIs - Application Programming Interfaces.
Think about SDKs as being a handy set of standardised tools which make life for developers much simpler, and development more organised and productive. Everything is provided to them on a plate with minimal fuss, reducing development costs and encouraging the uptake of the SDK owner’s services.
So that’s an SDK. An efficient set of tools and guidelines helping developers save time complexity. Think of it as a standardised set of tools and workshop manuals used by your local garage to repair your car. All in one toolbox.
Since we’re talking “mobile SDKs” here, all supported resources in a mobile software development kit will help a developer code more efficiently when writing software for Android or iOS based devices.
As well as native iOS and Android development, cross-platform frameworks are also popular with developers. Google’s Flutter and Meta’s React Native are the go-to solutions for cross-platform development, allowing one codebase to be written and compiled into apps for both iOS and Android from the same codebase.
Apps written in Flutter also allow developers to deliver web and desktop applications, with more platforms being supported with each release of Flutter.
As apps grow in complexity and add external services, the need to use SDKs - and work efficiently - grows with them.
If you would like to expand your market reach into mobile or cross-platform, please get in touch with us and we’ll be more than happy to review your current offerings and show you some examples of our work.
