alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical Leaders

#114 - Building an SDK feat. Dr. Daniel Hauschildt // CPTO @ IMG.LY

Dec 19, 2024

Dr. Daniel Hauschildt, Co-founder and CPTO of IMG.LY, shares his expertise in building photo and video editing SDKs. He delves into the essentials of developer-friendly documentation, emphasizing its role in marketing. Daniel discusses the challenges of cross-platform compatibility, advocating for the beauty of well-designed APIs. He also highlights their focus on algorithm optimization over raw computational power. With insights on modular design, he paints a vivid picture of navigating the technical hurdles in the SDK landscape.

41:06

Creator website

Episode guests

Dr. Daniel Hauschildt

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Creating effective SDKs demands comprehensive documentation and a strong focus on enhancing the developer experience for widespread adoption.

Building cross-platform SDKs requires rigorous testing across diverse devices to ensure seamless performance and address unique compatibility challenges.

Deep dives

Origins and Evolution of Imagely

Imagely was founded in 2017 with a unique background stemming from early image hosting services. Initially established as one of the first hosting platforms for images before Twitter's own integration, the company pivoted towards developing Software Development Kits (SDKs) for photo editing. The founder, Daniel Hauschild, transitioned from being an academic to an entrepreneur, and this shift allowed him to leverage his extensive education in electrical engineering and computer science during the development of Imagely’s products. The evolution from image hosting to creating SDKs was driven by the recognition of greater opportunities in the photo editing space.

Intro

2min

Evolution of Imagely and the Journey into SDK Development

3min

Building a Successful SDK: Key Strategies

5min

Navigating SDK Development for Media Editing

16min

Navigating Complexity in Client-Side and Server-Side Solutions for AI

2min

Building an Image Editing SDK: Challenges and Insights

11min

Anticipating Future Innovations and Growth in Tech

2min

The Tech and Business Side of Building an SDK

Get insight into the SDK business (and learn about cross-platform performance and developer marketing) with Dr. Daniel Hauschildt (MD & CPTO at IMG.LY). As a client-side offering (no servers!), IMG.LY needs to take extra steps to ensure reliability on all devices 📱, platforms 💻 and browsers 🌐. From crafting developer-friendly documentation to optimizing performance on every device and platform imaginable, Daniel shares hard-earned insights from the SDK business.

👨‍💻What makes an SDK truly developer-friendly? 🤔
📜Documentation: The secret sauce of INBOUND developer marketing
🔌 API Design: Beauty of purpose-driven entry points
🧩How they build for the future with modular design
🐙 Cross-platform support: Native vs. cross-platform frameworks (React, Flutter etc.)
⚙️Why they focus on algorithm optimization over compute optimisation

Listen here

Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome
(00:38) Who is Dr. Daniel Hauschildt
(02:15) Pivoting IMG.LY
(03:58) Daniel's Nerd Journey
(05:28) IMG.LY's Business Model and Growth
(06:14) Documentation in Developer Marketing
(09:08) Documentation Inspiration
(10:06) SDK Business: Technical Challenges and Solutions
(10:43) Challenge of Cross-Platform, Cross-Device, and Cross-Browser Support
(14:23) How They Modularise the SDK
(17:18) Versioning and Breaking Changes
(18:29) Algorithm Optimization Over Compute Optimization
(21:59) Native vs. Cross-Platform Frameworks (Flutter, React, etc.)
(24:15) Documentation Tools
(24:54) AI Integration
(26:14) Client-Side Functionality
(28:03) Future Plans for IMG.LY
(32:01) IMG.LY Team Composition
(33:20) What Is the ICP of an SDK?
(34:48) DevX: Marketing to Developers
(35:40) DevX Function Calls
(37:48) DevX: UI/UX of API Design
(38:47) Message to Younger Self

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

alphalist.CTO Podcast - For CTOs and Technical Leaders

#114 - Building an SDK feat. Dr. Daniel Hauschildt // CPTO @ IMG.LY

Episode guests