It depends on whom you write the code for and why. If I write code so that other people can use it I strive for coming out with the best API possible (for what

It depends on whom you write the code for and why. If I write code so that other people can use it I strive for coming out with the best API possible (for whatever definition of "best" makes sense for the project) if I write for experiment or fun I just want to get thing done and see if it works so I write in the most fastest way possible, if there is some change that I need to work again with the code I try to write it in the most maintainable way possible.