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SDK: features & benefits

If you’ve been involved in product development, you’ve probably heard of “SDKs” and how they can be integrated into your products. However, do you know what an SDK is?

SDKs are an important aspect of application development. It is perhaps a more common term for developers. But everyone involved in the area of innovation should be aware of what an SDK means and how they could benefit from it.

What is an SDK?

A software development kit (SDK) is a set of software tools used by developers to create applications for specific platforms.

The tools of an SDK can include a variety of things, for example, libraries, documentation, code samples, processes and guides that developers can use and integrate into their own applications. SDKs are designed for use on specific programming platforms or languages. Consequently, an Android SDK toolkit will be needed to create an Android application. An iOS SDK is required to create an iOS application. Therefore, you will need to identify the appropriate SDK for the platform or programming language.

What are the SDK features?

SDKs such as VYou have become a widely used tool for rapid development of new products and speeding up the time to MVPs.

SDKs usually incorporate not only production tools, but also support to make it easier to integrate functionalities. In addition to providing direct contact with the supplier companies. Here are some of the best features.

What are the benefits of using an SDK?

There are several benefits of using SDKs, here we describe the main ones.

  1. Ease of integration : if you don’t have an app yet, or already have one, you can easily create an app or add powerful new tools with just a few lines of code. In many cases, you can customise the look and feel to match your brand. All integration points can be flexible. You will be able to fit seamlessly with existing structure and navigation.
  2. Faster time to market: Time is crucial to launch products on time. Otherwise, a competitor can win customers earlier. In that sense, SDKs can be integrated in a short time. While they can be customised as much as desired (and this can take longer), basic functionalities can be available almost immediately. Reduced development time translates into fewer resources spent, and more time for developers to focus on other things.
  3. Minimal investment: with SDKs you can test various tools, with minimal investment and reduced time to market. You can have solid functionalities, such as login, password and payment system as offered by VYou in a few days.

SDK vs. API: what’s the difference?

Let us clarify the following concepts:

  • API

An application programming interface (API) is basically code that allows clearly defined communication between two separate applications. An API delivers your application’s request to other software and then returns the response to another application.

  • SDK

Por su parte, un SDK puede contener todo lo necesario para comunicarse con otro software (es decir, una o más APIs), así como bibliotecas de códigos, instalaciones de depuración, notas técnicas, tutoriales y documentación. En consecuencia, el SDK puede contener una o más API y más utilidades esenciales. La API es solo una parte de un SDK. El SDK es como un “contenedor” más grande para una gama completa de herramientas SDK.

Conclusion

By using SDKs, we open up opportunities for your product to reach wider audiences than you can reach on your own. All it takes is adopting a functional SDK tool like VYou that other applications can implement and integrate, which saves a lot of development time and resources.

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