Sketch Out Your API First

Dan Webb wrote an article about API design where he suggests that you should first think about how you would like your interface to be used, before diving into details like class and function design. He argues that your API has to be simple and fun to use, providing the example of the Web-based jQuery API as an exemplar of this goal. I agree with Dan’s points: user-oriented issues such as the simplicity and usability of an API are often overlooked to the detriment of a library’s success. Dan also echos other suggestions that I make in “API Design for C++” about providing a simple interface for common operations but also enabling more complex operations with a more advanced underlying API.

• http://www.danwebb.net/2011/2/10/writing-a-new-library-sketch-it-out-first