On Nov 8, 2006, at 10:39 AM, Dave Amos wrote:
Hello Ruby folks,
Hi, Dave!
Here's the question: Is creating an API something that is considered "advanced", as in out of the reach of beginner programmers? If I started to work on it, is it something that would likely frustrate me and go nowhere? I really don't have a clue right now.
The only quality answer (I think, at least) is "it depends". It really depends on how complex whatever you're mapping is (after all, an API is more-or-less just a well-documented mapping) and what kind of skills are necessary to present that API.
For instance, open-uri could be considered an API to HTTP, and while it doesn't really require a lot of background in OOP to present the API, a solid understanding of HTTP is certainly necessary to implement it.
The converse would probably be something that works on a formalized XML schema, as presenting the API pleasurably will likely be more difficult than writing the code to interface with an already-existing series of XML tools.
The latter sounds a lot closer to what you're describing. The most important thing you can do however, is read and practice.
PS - How do I get off of digest mode with this email list? I emailed the list admin (I think) to no avail. It's hard to have a conversation with everyone when I get all of the emails in one chunk.
The link to the mailman pages (which you can use to configure your account) are presented at the bottom of every email, and likely your digests.
-- Erik Hollensbe [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ PDXRuby mailing list [email protected] IRC: #pdx.rb on irc.freenode.net http://lists.pdxruby.org/mailman/listinfo/pdxruby
