API Design Through the Lens of Photography
summary
API design compares to photography by treating constraints as creative decisions: exposure parameters — ISO shutter speed aperture — map to trade-offs like latency, memory, and ergonomics. Advice includes pick a clear voice for the API, prefer explicit stories (React’s state story is cited), avoid redoing a module loader unless the ecosystem needs it, and treat surprising popularity as a signal to study why before changing behavior. Practical rules: design small internal interfaces as APIs and invest in documentation more important than code.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:15Equipment
- 7:40Content
- 12:44Artistic Approachability
- 15:08Artistic Intent
- 17:16Not everything is intentional
- 19:12Practice
- 22:08Respect Others
- 24:39Learn an Art
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