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Android

Gingerbread update to Android’s NDK increases overall Android app “awesomeness”

January 13, 2011 – 9:45 am
Android’s Native Development Kit was introduced back in July of 2009 and has allowed developers to write shared libraries in C and C++ that Android apps can take advantage of. Chris Pruett, a Googler and Androider, points out over at the Android Developers blog that as the  ”awesomeness” of the Android NDK increases, the “awesomeness” of Android apps increase directly. But, I challenge you Mr. Pruett, does the increase in “awesomeness” of Android apps increase the “awesomeness” of the NDK? Check out the “awesomeness” graph below.

Stepping away from logic tricks, lets take a look at what the new stuff in the NDK really means for developers and non-developers. The biggest thing for developers to see as a benefit will obviously be all of the more advanced things that they can do with the device and UI because of the low level library changes. These new libraries will also inevitably support Android applications by allowing for brand new functionality and interaction with hardware and UI. Something else of note is that the new NDK allows C++ developers to fully develop native Android apps without writing a single line of Java code. That’s right, all you C++ guys and gals out there don’t have to dabble with Java to create your new Android application.

And for consumers there are infinite possibilities mostly evident in better, more visually stunning and useful applications. Not to mention the increase in game performance and support for better graphics down the road. The Android NDK is definitely a geeky thing, but with it comes a better, more robust platform to develop awesome applications on.

If you want to know the technical stuff I highly suggest heading over to the Android Developers blog and reading Chris’s article.

Via [Android Developers Blog]

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