6 min read
In modern software development, the SDK and API are two principal tools you’ll encounter. They share plenty in common, and sometimes there’s confusion around what they each do.
At their core, both the SDK and the API enable you to enhance the functionality of your application with relative ease. To deliver on the promise of either or both—and improve the experience both in-house and for end-users—it’s important to understand how both tools work on the backend, how they differ and how they contribute to the overall development process.
SDK stands for software development kit. Also known as a devkit, the SDK is a set of software-building tools for a specific platform, including the building blocks, debuggers and, often, a framework or group of code libraries such as a set of routines specific to an operating system (OS).
A typical SDK might include some or all of these resources in its set of tools:
Often, at least one API is also included in the SDK because without the API, applications can’t relay information and work together.
SDKs provide a comprehensive collection of tools that enable software developers to build software applications faster and in a more standardized way.
Cloud native mobile app development, for example, leverages Apple’s iOS SDKs or Google’s Android SDKs for that platform. For larger-scale applications, such as enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and proprietary web and desktop software applications, Microsoft provides the commonly used, open-source .NET SDK.
The simplicity of an SDK is just as valuable as the tools in the kit. Here’s how it works:
SDKs are part and parcel of mobile app development. They have many use cases:
SDKS make developers’ jobs easier by providing these benefits:
Now let’s dive into how that intermediary—the API—works.
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API stands for application programming interface. Whether working as a stand-alone solution or included within an SDK, an API facilitates communication between two platforms. It does this by allowing its proprietary software to be leveraged by third-party developers. The developers can then enable their own users to indirectly use the service or services provided by the API solution.
You can also think of an API as a kind of agreement between two parties. The API not only allows for on-demand information exchange. It stipulates how that information should be exchanged.
Because some APIs provide the interface directly, the terms “API” and “interface” are sometimes used interchangeably.
To break that down, an API can consist of two things:
A few of the popular APIs are:
APIs make smooth, efficient integrations between applications possible.
For example, let’s say you have a real estate application. Your users want to be able to search for available real estate inventory—a service your software already provides. Furthermore, your users want to search for inventory within a certain area—a certain school district, perhaps.
The most logical solution is to integrate with an established service. Leveraging a geolocation API would enable your application’s end users to use that service to focus on particular inventory without any awareness that the geolocation application is separate.
From a technical standpoint, here’s what an API call entails:
APIs make many of the digital tools we routinely use possible. Here are three of the many API use cases:
APIs enhance both the development experience and the end-user experience doing the following:
No—in fact, as noted above, an SDK often contains at least one API. These two help you in different ways but can and do work together.
APIs, again, serve to define how different platforms work together. They facilitate interaction through specifications (protocols); and as facilitators, they serve as one of the tools in a complete kit.
SDKs are the complete kit. They go beyond facilitation (though they include it) to provide everything for building new software for a specific platform or programming language.
For a further breakdown on the relationship between SDKs and APIs, check out this video:
The overwhelming sentiment when it comes to leveraging SDKs and APIs is that they make developing software applications easier and more cost-effective. They’re about as common to developers as email and chat platforms are to any business team.
That being said, there are some notable challenges that come with using APIs and SDKs. One challenge involves security breaches. Patchwork software development can result in unintended loopholes that can potentially expose personal information of users. There have even been cases of rogue SDK developers shopping around (and sometimes successfully propagating) SDKs capable of fraudulent activity, unbeknownst to the programmers using them.
For this reason, it is key for teams of all sizes to vet their providers and keep security on their radar throughout the development cycle.
Another challenge specific to SDKs has been the frequency of updates. When a development house has to support multiple versions of an SDK, it can cause synchronicity issues between that SDK and any APIs and backend systems is uses. In order to avoid end-user issues and security breaches, DevOps teams need to keep a close eye on versioning.
Availability is top-of-mind for most development houses—but having control over those development tools is equally critical.
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