What is the difference between IDE and SDK?

[Nagaraj c]

Hi, I want to know the difference between a IDE and a SDK?

[Niheel]

A SDK commonly knows as software development kits or devkits are a set of tools that allow you to create applications for a certain software package, framework, platform, console or OS.
Examples of a SDK:

• developer.android.com/sdk
• developer.apple.com/ipad/sdk/
• www.adobe.com/products/air/sdk/
• dev.opera.com/sdk/
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/bb980924

An IDE on the other hand, known as an Integrated Development Environment, is an environment for writing & designing application. They usually include a source code editor, compiler, and usually a debugger that all work together to help you build software more efficiently.
Examples of an IDE:

• http://www.microsoft.com/express/downloads/
• http://netbeans.org/features/cpp/index.html
• http://www.eclipse.org/
• http://www.zend.com/en/products/studio/
• http://www.kdevelop.org/

[Mary Anne]

SDK only includes the necessary building blocks for developing applications. This includes frameworks, libraries, header files, whatever as well as compilers, debuggers, and various other tools, such as profilers, etc.

IDE simply makes access to those more user-friendly (or integrated, hence the name), if you will. However, Eclipse for example comes with its own compiler as well.

In any case, an IDE allows you to develop applications from a single environment, be that Emacs, Visual Studio or Eclipse. If you only have an SDK you'd write programs with a text editor, compile them with the compiler (instead of hitting F\d+), debug with the debugger which often has an awkward text interface, &c.