The toolbox theory: Coined by me 😂
Image source: Flaticon
Well, being a non-developer for me it is easy to understand technical jargon by relating it with a real-life tangible product. So, after some readings and asking a few questions to my friends here is what I understood about SDK:
SDK stands for Software Development Kit, simply put it is a combination of tools in a packaged form. But, what are these tools? and Why it is packaged in this form?
What are these tools in the SDK? 👩🔧🧑🔧👨🔧
To understand the types of tools in the kit, we need to understand what we are building first.
Image source: Flaticon
To build a table we need hammers, sledgehammers, crowbars, screwdrivers, chisels, pliers, spanners and wrenches, handsaw, measurement tools, clamps, etc. Similarly, to build an application a developer needs various kinds of tools, but, writing every line of code takes time. Apart from developing the application, the developer also needs to take care of the documentation, and security, learn and test a new piece of code, etc. To save time and resources here the SDK comes as a helper to the developer. So, developers can focus on building the table rather than making a hammer from scratch to build the table. Similar to the tools in the toolbox an SDK contains an editor, compiler, API, code, documentation, debugger, etc.
What are the benefits of SDK? 👌
Simply put, the benefit of SDK is a developer does not need to start everything from zero. The SDK provides an easy interface for communicating with the underlying technology. It helps in faster development, quicker deployment, and testing as well. It in turn saves time and resources for the team.
What are the different types of SDK? 🤯
- Mobile OS SDK. Example: Android SDK
- Web App programming SDK. Example: Java Development Kit
- Open-source SDK.
- SDK for IoT.
Disadvantages of SDK 🥲
Using SDK one can save time, energy, and resources. But, it also comes with some disadvantages. Data security could be one of the issues as SDK packs API along with it and it requires permission to operate and handle data. Secondly, synchronization and proper integration are required while working with SDK. As SDK works with multiple programs internally and externally in the systems.