Very good point.
I completely agree that being good at designing new APIs is one of the most valuable qualities of a programmer and I have never seen a job interview or test that could check this.
I completely agree that being good at designing new APIs is one of the most valuable qualities of a programmer and I have never seen a job interview or test that could check this.
I could care less whether you remember some algorithm you could look up in Knuth. I want to know if you can put yourself in your customer's place and design an API that meets their needs.
It’s why I could immediately see that XML was going to fail in the long run. Everyone is a language designer? Sure, that’s going to work out.
APIs are tiny languages, so learning to do it well is a microcosm of language design. You don’t have to be good at all parts, but if the API you need isn’t in your wheelhouse, everyone will know. And if you build enough of them you’ll discover the limits of your skill.