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>It is true that "programmers are users, too" but this is like saying that tomato farmers also eat tomatoes; the farmer and the chef have different concerns. I

>It is true that "programmers are users, too" but this is like saying that tomato farmers also eat tomatoes; the farmer and the chef have different concerns. It's not a good analogy because programming APIs are only used by the programmer. If this is an internal API then it's akin to the farming equipment that a tomato farmer might use to supply the chef with high quality tomatoes. A farmer using high quality, efficient equipment will have an easier and more productive time farming tomatoes and therefore will have an easier time fulfilling the needs of chefs who want the tomatoes. It's still very much a user interface. The users are your developers. I think people are confusing graphical user interfaces with user interfaces. A keyboard/mouse is a user interface into a PC. If it's a public API then the API is your product. And it's very much a UI because that is the user interface, the users use your product in that way. That's why companies like Stripe are so loved by developers, they have a good API.

sverhagen 6y ago
A farmer is not the one designing the farm equipment (though I respect how much they know and may be able to do maintenance on it). That's where this analogy breaks down. The original suggestion that APIs are less UX than UIs is based on the idea that developers make APIs and thus will easily understand other APIs, so that less investment in the experience is needed. Which is... nonsense? First of all, not all developers are API developers. Those in other disciplines will welcome the assistance provided by good design and documentation. Secondly, as much as I don't appreciate diving into someone else's spaghetti code, do I also not appreciate integrating with someone else's clunky API, even though I build APIs for a living.
- KineticLensman 6y ago
  >>>> this is like saying that tomato farmers also eat tomatoes >>> it's akin to the farming equipment that a tomato farmer might use >> A farmer is not the one designing the farm equipment Great example of the problem of using analogies. > someone else's spaghetti code I'll not open this, erm, can of worms

sverhagen 6y ago

A farmer is not the one designing the farm equipment (though I respect how much they know and may be able to do maintenance on it). That's where this analogy breaks down. The original suggestion that APIs are less UX than UIs is based on the idea that developers make APIs and thus will easily understand other APIs, so that less investment in the experience is needed. Which is... nonsense? First of all, not all developers are API developers. Those in other disciplines will welcome the assistance provided by good design and documentation. Secondly, as much as I don't appreciate diving into someone else's spaghetti code, do I also not appreciate integrating with someone else's clunky API, even though I build APIs for a living.

KineticLensman 6y ago
>>>> this is like saying that tomato farmers also eat tomatoes >>> it's akin to the farming equipment that a tomato farmer might use >> A farmer is not the one designing the farm equipment Great example of the problem of using analogies. > someone else's spaghetti code I'll not open this, erm, can of worms