DaveKoelle

From APIDesign

(Entering suggestions under Dmkoelle)

Hello Jaroslav,

Thank you for your email. I appreciate the opportunity to review the content of your book and provide feedback. I agree that based on what I know about your book so far, it will indeed be unique in the field, and I would imagine it would be very well received.

A little background on me seems appropriate. I have been developing software professionally since graduating in 1997 with a degree in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI, in Worcester, Massachusetts). In three of my past four jobs, I have been specifically focused on developing software libraries that are intended to be used on multiple projects throughout particular companies; for one of those jobs, the API itself was the customer-facing interface. Always interested in user interfaces in general, I quickly saw the applicability of a number of UI techniques to API development. I feel that good API design is at the intersection of good development skills and good UI skills.

Having an innate interest of API design skills led me to find and absorb as much of what other people have written and spoken about - which isn't a lot. I believe I have become somewhat of an API design authority, at least in my own circle of developers. I have compiled my own lists of top skills for API development. I also have my own open-source project, JFugue (a Java-based music API), where again the actual product is an API that developers can use to create music.

As an aside, I've been newspaper editor at ever level of education that has its own newspaper, so I have an editor's mind as well. I can spot extra spaces or incorrect punctuation a mile away.

For these reasons, it is fortunate that Geertjan has connected us, and I look forward to working with you and reviewing your book.