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Facebook launches developers' center, new iOS SDK update

The social network makes a big update on its software developers kit, which now features better user session management and pre-built user interfaces.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam
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Facebook launched improved tools and a new center for developers today, with hopes that it will make it easier and faster for developers to create Facebook-integrated iOS apps.

The social network said this is the biggest upgrade to its iOS software developers kit, or SDK, but it is fully compatible with other versions.

"The new features make the SDK a natural extension of Apple's iOS environment and make your development cycle more efficient by eliminating the need to develop and manage common tasks," Facebook's Jason Clark wrote in the developers blog today.

Improvements include better user session management, improved API support, and pre-built user interfaces for common uses like displaying a user's profile, enabling check-ins, and selecting friends within an app. The SDK will also automatically use the Facebook login in iOS once the operating system becomes available.

The new iOS developers center outlines the basics of developing and includes a tutorial and reference documents. Check it out here.