Android SDK is a robust software development kit created by Google to provide developers with a complete set of tools for creating Android applications.
Features of Android SDK
Android SDK has a decent set of libraries and development tools to help programmers create and test applications. A solution for new or inexperienced Android developers is the ADT Bundle. It has a large collection of utilities, including
- Eclipse;
- Android Platform Tools;
- the latest Android system image.
The Android SDK assumes that developers already have Eclipse (an officially supported IDE), the JDK (Java Development Kit), and the Android Development Tools plugin (not required, but recommended) installed. In other words, the SDK includes only basic utilities to work with Android applications.
Features of the Android SDK
The SDK does not initially contain the Android platform or any third-party components. In order to get them, you will have to run the SDK manager and install at least one platform along with the proper tools. The reason for this is very simple - platforms are constantly being updated to support new features and packing them into the SDK all the time would be quite costly, not to mention the size of the final package. That's why Google has adopted a simpler solution. Sure, you'll need a network connection, but who doesn't have one nowadays? And this way you can also keep up with the latest features of the platform.
In addition, the SDK supports older versions of the platform - from Android 1.1 to the latest version. This allows developers to create apps for older devices and test them for compatibility with the latest platforms.
Overall, the SDK is a great helper for Android developers, although it is aimed at experienced developers.
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