Facebook, which demoed a new Android SDK at Google I/O last week, has put up the library online for all developers to see and use [github link].

Created by Steven Soneff, an engineering intern, the library enables support for

  • Strong authentication using OAuth 2.0
  • Making requests to the new Graph API
  • Publishing stories back to Facebook via Feed forms

This means that any Android developer will now be able to easily incorporate Facebook interaction into their own application, so get ready for a boom of Facebook connected apps.

As an example, hypothetically speaking, if we had an Android Police app, we would now be able to use this API to get upvote functionality for a post in a matter of a few function calls and then share it to a list of selected friends. Now the question is - who wants to design the official AP app? :-]

It's curious to know that Steven, while only an intern, wrote the whole library on his own in just a few weeks before Google I/O. Bravo, Steven.

The Official Facebook SDK for Android

We're really excited to launch the beta version of the Facebook SDK for Android, which we demoed at Google I/O in San Francisco last week. Over 100 million people use Facebook on their mobile phones every month, and Android is one of the fastest growing mobile platforms. We're open-sourcing tools and example code that make it simple for the thousands of Android developers to integrate Facebook Platform into their applications and reach a large and ever-growing mobile audience.

The Facebook SDK for Android broadens our support for mobile platforms, which also includes iPhone apps and mobile websites.

You can begin integrating the following Facebook Platform features into your Android applications today:

  • Strong authentication using OAuth 2.0
  • Making requests to the new Graph API
  • Publishing stories back to Facebook via Feed forms

The library is very simple. With only a few lines of Java, your application can become social. To get started, download the Facebook SDK for Android from GitHub. We would love to hear your feedback.

Steven, an engineering intern on the Facebook Mobile Platform team, loves Facebook's "move fast" ethic; he built this SDK in just a few weeks for his internship project.

Source: