4 ms·

In most cases there is a public API which is documented and a private API which is not. In this specific case, users do not have the ability to use this instru

In most cases there is a public API which is documented and a private API which is not. In this specific case, users do not have the ability to use this instruction, so there is no reason to document it.

intricatedetail 6y ago
Why is it acceptable for companies to keep such information away from a consumer?
- nolok 6y ago
  Because it is not part of the public-accessible product and the company is free to change it at will from one version of the product to the other, or even between multiple batch of the same version. You see it from an "they should inform us" POV, but there is also the "there is no guarantee it will be there" side.
  - ClumsyPilot 6y ago
    What do you mean it's not publically accessible? A bank's vault is not publically accessible because there is a meter of steel, concrete, and armed guards. We can debate if some private bank API's are publically accessible (you can still DDOS them). This shit, however, is inside my property, that I bought with my money, and it might end up being used by some malware. It is by definition accessible, and could be a security bomb. How can any believer in free market defend companies secretly selling to comsumers the equivalent of a dangerous remote control mechanism embedded in their car? Market only works if sellers aren't lying all the time, and in IT industry we made it the norm.
    - nolok 6y ago
      You're talking security, he was talking official documentation and thus guarantees about it being there that way. Your bank doesn't guarantee you that the lock model X45-b from company SUPERLOCK will protect your gold in their vault, even if that's what they use right now, and it's not specified in your contract with them, they just guarantee to protect your gold. This way they can change the lock without being in breach of contract.
- johnsoft 6y ago
  Here's how Ford tests its car seats: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/1/11/18178402/ford-robot-butt-robutt-sweat-glands https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/1/11/18178402/ford-robot-... Should we, as consumers, demand that Ford productize this robot and make it publicly available before we'll buy a Ford car?
  - monocasa 6y ago
    If they shipped the robot in cars because that was cheaper than removing it, then in an ideal world they should document that, IMO. Obviously we don't live in an ideal world.
- beowulfey 6y ago
  Whether or not it is acceptable it is certainly the standard method used. Even websites often have an internal API and a different public-facing one. This is how almost everything works in the digital age.

intricatedetail 6y ago

Why is it acceptable for companies to keep such information away from a consumer?

nolok 6y ago
Because it is not part of the public-accessible product and the company is free to change it at will from one version of the product to the other, or even between multiple batch of the same version. You see it from an "they should inform us" POV, but there is also the "there is no guarantee it will be there" side.
- ClumsyPilot 6y ago
  What do you mean it's not publically accessible? A bank's vault is not publically accessible because there is a meter of steel, concrete, and armed guards. We can debate if some private bank API's are publically accessible (you can still DDOS them). This shit, however, is inside my property, that I bought with my money, and it might end up being used by some malware. It is by definition accessible, and could be a security bomb. How can any believer in free market defend companies secretly selling to comsumers the equivalent of a dangerous remote control mechanism embedded in their car? Market only works if sellers aren't lying all the time, and in IT industry we made it the norm.
  - nolok 6y ago
    You're talking security, he was talking official documentation and thus guarantees about it being there that way. Your bank doesn't guarantee you that the lock model X45-b from company SUPERLOCK will protect your gold in their vault, even if that's what they use right now, and it's not specified in your contract with them, they just guarantee to protect your gold. This way they can change the lock without being in breach of contract.
johnsoft 6y ago
Here's how Ford tests its car seats: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/1/11/18178402/ford-robot-butt-robutt-sweat-glands https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/1/11/18178402/ford-robot-... Should we, as consumers, demand that Ford productize this robot and make it publicly available before we'll buy a Ford car?
- monocasa 6y ago
  If they shipped the robot in cars because that was cheaper than removing it, then in an ideal world they should document that, IMO. Obviously we don't live in an ideal world.
beowulfey 6y ago
Whether or not it is acceptable it is certainly the standard method used. Even websites often have an internal API and a different public-facing one. This is how almost everything works in the digital age.