Amazon Launches Alexa Skills Kit for Python
This week Amazon introduced a new Alexa Skills Kit for Python. The new Software Development Kit (SDK) will allow businesses, software developers or anyone interested in developing an Alexa skill to use the Python programming language in addition to Java and Node.js. According to the blog, the new SDK provides the same features as the previous kits, including request handling, response building, attribute management and Alexa API Calls. Amazon also makes it clear on its blog several times that the new set of Python tools is a quick way to get an Alexa skill live and that it will be free or low cost to host the skill:
“Visit the alexa-skills-kit-sdk-for-python repository on GitHub to find everything you need to get started, from a “Hello, world” sample to the complete technical documentation. You can host your Python skill in AWS Lambda or the infrastructure of your choice. Note that because of the AWS Free Tier and AWS Promotional Credits for Alexa, you can build and host most Alexa skills for free using AWS.”
Expanding the SDK for Alexa
One of Amazon’s greatest strengths has been to make it easy for developers to access the tools they need to build for Alexa. Whether it is new Video API features or providing the Alexa Skills Kit in three programming languages, Amazon wants more skills and quickly. Over 35,000 skills have already been developed using Java and Node.js and by providing an SDK for the fourth most popular programming language with Python, Amazon will be able to attract even more developers to the Alexa platform. More developers means more Alexa skills, which appears to be one of Amazon’s key strategies to getting Alexa everywhere consumers are.
Amazon Launches Alexa Voice Service SDK for Commercial Device Makers
XAPPmedia Passes 1,000 Paid Voice Apps on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
