Exon SDK vs Competitors: Which Is Right for Your Project?

Migrating to Exon SDK: Step-by-Step Checklist and Common PitfallsMigrating an existing project to a new SDK can feel like steering a large ship through narrow channels: you need a clear plan, careful checks, and contingency options if things drift off course. This guide provides a practical, step-by-step checklist for migrating to the Exon SDK, highlights common pitfalls, and offers mitigation strategies so your migration is predictable, repeatable, and low-risk.

Why migrate to Exon SDK?

Migrating to the Exon SDK typically promises benefits like improved performance, modernized APIs, better tooling, and longer-term support. Before starting, confirm the migration’s goals (performance, maintainability, new platform support, security updates) and get stakeholder buy-in. Define clear success metrics: build time, runtime performance, test pass rate, crash rate, and feature parity.

Pre-migration preparation

Inventory and analyze your current codebase
- Create a list of modules, libraries, and third-party dependencies.
- Identify code paths that interact with the current SDK (networking, storage, UI, device features).
- Note platform targets and supported versions.
Set migration scope and timeline
- Decide whether to migrate the whole app at once or incrementally by module/feature.
- Estimate effort per module and define checkpoints.
Create a rollback and branching strategy
- Use feature branches and protect main branch.
- Keep an automated rollback plan (e.g., ability to revert to previous SDK branch quickly).
Establish testing baseline
- Record current unit/integration/end-to-end test coverage and pass rates.
- Capture performance baselines: startup time, memory, CPU, and key feature timings.
- Take crash reports and logs snapshot.
Prepare environment and tooling
- Ensure CI/CD can build and test with the Exon SDK.
- Install Exon SDK on dev machines and CI images; pin versions for reproducibility.
- Update linting and static analysis rules as needed.

Step-by-step migration checklist

1. Read the Exon SDK docs and changelogs

Identify breaking changes, deprecated APIs, and migration guides provided by Exon.
Note required platform or runtime constraints (minimum OS, compiler versions).

2. Set up a minimal sandbox project

Create a small project that uses core Exon SDK features you’ll need (initialization, auth, storage, network).
Verify build, runtime, and basic feature behavior before touching the main app.

3. Migrate core initialization and configuration

Replace SDK initialization calls and global config.
Ensure environment variables, API keys, and secrets are compatible and stored securely (do not hardcode).
Validate initialization errors are handled with informative logs.

4. Replace networking and serialization layers

If Exon provides its own HTTP client or data models, map existing network calls to Exon equivalents.
Migrate serializers/deserializers; confirm compatibility with existing APIs (test on staging backend).
Watch for changes in default timeouts, retry logic, and header handling.

5. Port storage and persistence

Move local storage (files, databases, key-value stores) to Exon-backed solutions where appropriate.
Migrate migrations and schema changes carefully; include data migration scripts or routines.
Verify data integrity with checksums or sample data comparisons.

6. Rework authentication and security flows

Align user authentication, token refresh, and session handling with Exon patterns.
Re-check encryption, key storage, and platform-specific secure storage APIs.
Test edge cases: expired tokens, multi-device sessions, and account deletion.

7. Adapt UI/UX integrations

Update UI components that rely on SDK callbacks or lifecycle events.
Ensure threading and concurrency models match Exon’s expectations (main-thread callbacks vs background).
Validate accessibility and localization remain intact.

8. Migrate background tasks and scheduling

Map background services, cron jobs, and push notification handling to Exon’s APIs.
Confirm behavior under platform constraints (doze mode, background limits).

9. Update analytics, logging, and telemetry

Replace instrumentation that used the old SDK with Exon’s telemetry APIs.
Preserve existing event names/semantics where analytics continuity is needed.
Validate sampling, batching, and privacy settings.

10. Run comprehensive test suites

Unit tests: update mocks/stubs for Exon interfaces and run at local and CI levels.
Integration tests: exercise external interactions (APIs, databases, third-party services).
End-to-end tests: simulate user flows on devices/emulators.
Performance tests: compare to baseline metrics recorded pre-migration.

11. Gradual rollout and monitoring

Use feature flags or staged releases (canary, beta) to limit exposure.
Monitor errors, performance, user feedback, and crash rates closely.
Be prepared to disable new SDK features and revert incrementally.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Broken assumptions about threading and callbacks
- Pitfall: SDK callbacks run on different threads than before, causing race conditions.
- Mitigation: Audit all callback handlers; enforce main-thread UI updates; add thread-safety checks and tests.
Incomplete data migrations
- Pitfall: Schema changes silently corrupt or lose user data.
- Mitigation: Write explicit migration scripts, test on copies of production data, and include data validation steps.
Misconfigured build or CI environments
- Pitfall: Builds pass locally but fail in CI due to missing tools or version mismatches.
- Mitigation: Pin SDK/tool versions in CI config, use reproducible build containers, and run the same build scripts locally.
Performance regressions
- Pitfall: New SDK introduces higher memory use or slower response times.
- Mitigation: Benchmark critical paths before and after; profile hotspots; revert or optimize problematic modules.
Silent behavioral changes
- Pitfall: Exon changes default retry/backoff or caching behavior leading to subtle bugs.
- Mitigation: Review defaults in Exon docs; explicitly set policies; create integration tests simulating network failures.
API and dependency version conflicts
- Pitfall: Exon SDK transitively requires library versions incompatible with other dependencies.
- Mitigation: Use dependency resolution tools, isolate modules, or use multi-module builds to control versions.
Security regressions
- Pitfall: Sensitive data inadvertently logged or stored with weaker protections.
- Mitigation: Audit logs and storage; run security scans; keep secrets encrypted and use platform-secure storage.

Testing checklist (detailed)

Unit tests: all modules updated, mocking Exon interfaces where needed.
Integration tests: auth flows, API calls, database reads/writes.
End-to-end: user sign-up/login, main user flows, push notifications.
Regression tests: compare UI screenshots, API outputs, and stored data hashes.
Performance: startup time, memory consumption, CPU usage under load.
Security: SAST/DAST scans, secret detection, permissions audit.
Observability: logging consistency, metrics emitted, alert thresholds configured.

Rollout strategies

Big bang: fast but high risk. Only for small apps with full test coverage and predictable behavior.
Incremental module-by-module: safer; allows rollback of individual features.
Parallel run: keep old and new SDK code paths active behind flags; compare results.
Canary release: small percentage of users on Exon SDK; monitor and expand.

Post-migration validation

Confirm feature parity: verify feature flags, AB tests, and user-visible functionality.
Monitor key metrics for at least 1–2 release cycles: crash rate, latency, session length, retention.
Collect developer feedback on maintainability and any pain points.
Update documentation and onboarding material for new developers.

Quick sample migration timeline (8–12 weeks — example)

Week 1–2: Inventory, planning, sandbox project, CI setup.
Week 3–5: Migrate core modules (init, auth, networking).
Week 6: Storage and data migrations; integration tests.
Week 7: UI updates, background tasks, telemetry.
Week 8: Full test pass, canary release.
Week 9–12: Monitoring, bug fixes, broader rollout.

Final notes

Treat migration as a product change: communicate with stakeholders and users.
Automate as much as possible: builds, tests, migrations, and rollbacks.
Keep backups and a tested rollback path.
Use metrics and user feedback to judge success, not just build completion.

Bold fact about migration time: a cautious migration typically takes several weeks to a few months depending on app size and test coverage.