Apple opens interface code that underpins CloudKit

Last April, we commented that Apple opened the code for FoundationDB, a database specialized company acquired by the Cupertino giant in 2015. Now, the company is announcing the opening of its API code that supports the CloudKit from Apple, the FoundationDB Record Layer.

More specifically, this API provides FoundationDB with a new record layer, something equivalent to a relational database. In addition, this layer presents a new scheme for data management, indexing and consultation.

This is the first time that Apple has publicly confirmed that CloudKit is powered by FoundationDB. According to the company, FDB Record Layer is used in Apple’s productions «to support applications and services for hundreds of millions of people».

FoundationDB also detailed how CloudKit uses Record Layer. In short, this layer operates in a completely independent way, which means that tasks such as instantiating (creating an object of a certain class) a logical database and performing an operation “take only milliseconds”.

For those interested in going deeper into the subject and creating apps that use the FDB Record Layer, the company published an introduction guide and a more in-depth article [em inglês] about the details of this API – also available on the project’s GitHub.

via 9to5Mac