Alternative Android version developer Cyanogen Inc has announced the first release of its Platform SDK. Cyanogen describes the Platform SDK as an open-source tool that lets Android developers use existing APIs within CyanogenMod’s framework and even allows developers create their own APIs for apps to hook into the platform or for the community-at-large.
Cyanogen believes that this approach to its Android version from an SDK/API perspective will be less complex and intimidating than approaching the operating system as a complete platform and working backwards to implement new features or ideas for apps on the platform. The idea for the SDK came as a result of attending a college hackathon and seeing that students were apprehensive about working with the platform due to the lack of modularity and access for implementing new ideas.
The company is offering a beta-level SDK with an introductory API for the Quick Settings Tile with examples given for simply adding lines of code to make apps compatible with the Quick Settings menu as well as a demo app, hinting at the future extensibility that the Platform SDK will allow.
