
CloudKit is an integrated
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
,
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
,
iPadOS
iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its iPad line of tablet computers. It is a rebranded variant of iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones, renamed to reflect the diverging features of the two product ...
,
watchOS
watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only ...
, and
tvOS
tvOS (formerly known as Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generatio ...
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
that functions as a
backend as a service
Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS), also known as "backend as a service", is a model for providing web app and mobile app developers with a way to link their applications to backend cloud storage and APIs exposed by back end applications while ...
(BaaS). CloudKit is the
framework
A framework is a generic term commonly referring to an essential supporting structure which other things are built on top of.
Framework may refer to:
Computing
* Application framework, used to implement the structure of an application for an op ...
that powers
iCloud
iCloud is a Personal cloud, cloud service from Apple Inc. launched on October 12, 2011 as a successor to MobileMe. , the service had an estimated 850 million users, up from 782 million users in 2016.
iCloud enables users to sync their data to t ...
on those operating systems and on the web.
Services
Application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
developers can utilize CloudKit for integrated access to Apple's iCloud
servers into iOS and macOS applications. The framework provides authentication, a private database, a public database and structured asset storage services allowing developers to focus on client-side development.
It is the foundation for both iCloud Storage and iCloud Photo Library.
CloudKit also offers several APIs to access the iCloud Storage, where a user can store data and files so that they can be easily accessible from other devices.
Reception
Developers claim that this framework "replaces back-end web services like old-school databases, file storage and user authentication systems."
See also
*
Parse (company)
Parse, Inc. was a company acquired by Meta (then named Facebook) in 2013 and shut down in January 2017. They developed a MBaaS platform, Parse. Following the announcement in 2016 of the impending shutdown, the platform was subsequently open sourc ...
References
Apple Inc. services
Cloud infrastructure
Application programming interfaces
Software frameworks
Apple Inc. developed frameworks
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