Programmer Jargon Rant

[Chris 96 WS6]

I think I've finally been poking around here long enough I can post my first official rant. Let me go get my flame proof pants on first...

... OK, I'm back.

Today's rant: Jargon.

I find people like to throw around jargon to sound intelligent. It doesn't matter if they don't now what the jargon means.

My biggest pet peeve right now is "API".

I get what an API is, but to me the definition is too broad to provide any useful information alone.

If you've never used ADOdb before, and I tell you it is an API, do you know anything about it really? If I tell you it is a database abstraction layer that improves application portability between brands of DBs, you then have specific knowledge. I could still tell you it is an API in addition to that, but that would sacrifice brevity and still not add anything of value to what was communicated.

"Application Programming Interface". Its just one of those buzz terms like AJAX that can mean such a broad range of things that it loses its meaning.

[laserlight]

I get what an API is, but to me the definition is too broad to provide any useful information alone.
Then do not use it alone. Use it when you need to talk about the published interface of some library, or when you want to contrast an interface at source code level versus an interface at executable code level (i.e., ABI).

[Chris 96 WS6]

Fair enough, but my gripe is not with my use of the term.

[dougal85]

I don't know anybody that would describe ADOdb as an API. I would describe something as HAVING an API. Nothing is ever just an API, they have API's as part of them.

ie. Google Maps HAS an API, but it is NOT an API.

I find it a very useful term as it means there is an interface that can be used in a programmatic way. That interface can take many forms but it does tell me what it does.