eli5

okay i have been coding for like only 3 years but please please please

someone tell me the difference between an API and an SDK

bullets point comparisons only
warps to the most useful

Be specific.    
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d33m:mun

An API allows you to use any programming language you want but you have to manage all the set up and boilerplate. 

And SDK is typically written for a specific language and abstracts away all of the boilerplate and setup. The SDK uses the API internally.

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I think it depends on how well designed the SDK is. I’ve seen some that don’t actually make the developer experience easier than just writing your own code against the API. But generally, yeah, SDKs are going to get you up and running faster

This makes sense in principle
Thank you

I was looking at Airstack APISDK and they looked so similar but I can imagine for more complicated things there are bigger differences

Is it the case that if there is an SDK in your desired language, you should almost always use the SDK over the API?

I wanted to guess an answer but the last time I was a hands on developer, APIs were SOAP web services. 😳 Your answer is more or less what my understanding was, which makes my ego feel good today. Lol