19.1. Introducing the NDK

NDK is a bolt-on, complementary tool chain to the core Android SDK that permits developers to create application functionality in the C programming language. The NDK isn’t meant to replace the SDK applications, but rather is designed to augment them. In fact, you can’t create a standalone application with the NDK. The NDK compiles code written in C into libraries that are callable by SDK-based Java code. The role of these native libraries is to provide additional functionality to the Java application. The NDK also handles all of the application packaging steps to make sure that the resulting APK file contains not only the Java code but the native code libraries as well.

Considering the power and breadth of the Android SDK, why would you bother with the NDK?