Splunk SDKs Ramp Big Data Application Development

Splunk, a provider of software that collects, indexes and harnesses the machine-generated big data coming from websites, applications, servers, networks and mobile devices, recently announced the general availability of new software development kits for Java and Python.

The Splunk SDKs for Java, JavaScript, PHP and Python are built on a REST API and include documentation, code samples, resources and tools to help developers build on the Splunk platform.

Real-time analytics

With just a few lines of code, developers can easily manage HTTP access, authentication and namespaces. SDKs make it easier for developers to customise and extend the power of Splunk Enterprise, enabling real-time big data insights across the organisation.

Splunk previously released the GA version of the Splunk SDK for JavaScript for Splunk Enterprise 5. The Splunk SDK for PHP is in public preview. The Splunk SDK for Java, the Splunk SDK for JavaScript, the Splunk SDK for PHP and the Splunk SDK for Python are available for download.

Splunk aims to “lower the barriers for organisations to gain operational intelligence from machine data,” Paul Sanford, general manager of developer platform at Splunk, said in a statement. “We want to empower developers to build big data applications on the Splunk platform and to understand that you don’t need large-scale development efforts to get big value. That’s a key driver behind the development of these SDKs, helping developers quickly get started with Splunk software, leveraging their existing language skills and driving rapid time to value.”

Having a low barrier to entry is key to building a developer community around a software platform, Donnie Berkholz, an IT industry analyst at RedMonk, stated. “This applies to every step of the adoption process, from download to documentation to development,” Berkholz said in a statement. “Splunk’s focus on SDKs for some of the most popular programming languages, with underlying REST-based APIs, supports its commitment to enabling software developers to easily build applications.”

Integration

Benefits of the new SDKs include the ability to integrate Splunk data with other applications by enabling developers to create applications to index, search, visualise and analyse data using Splunk software and any other application. The SDKs also enable developers to quickly build big data applications using standard programming languages and tools.

Socialize uses the Splunk platform to build custom dashboards for its customers to present to their customers.

“We utilize the Splunk SDK for Python to allow our customers to access their application logs during the development process, which reduces our staff’s support workload,” Isaac Mosquera, chief technical officer at Socialize, said in a statement. “The Python SDK is also a critical component of our alerting, enabling us to shut down servers before they cause a production problem and stop any revenue loss.”

The Splunk SDK for Python provides Hurricane Labs with a “familiar developer environment to build applications that provide metrics and analytics from the Splunk platform to our entire customer base,” Bill Mathews, CTO of Hurricane Labs, said in a statement.

Message Bus developed several big data applications with Splunk software and runs most of its business on it, said Steve Mays, co-founder of Message Bus.

The company uses Splunk Enterprise for development, testing and monitoring its data for signs of attack or abuse to learn where there are problems and to manage security at the data level.

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Originally published on eWeek.