Re: [Wikitech-l] Tech Talk: API Client Libraries: January 6th

Please join us for the following tech talk: *Tech Talk**:* A developer's-eye view of API client libraries: how to choose them, how to make them, how to make them better *Presenter:* Frances Hocutt *Date:* January 6 *Time:* 1830 UTC <http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=tech+talk%3A+API+client+libraries&iso=20150106T1830&p1=%3A&am=30> Link to live YouTube stream <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz__duVeaWY> *IRC channel for questions/discussion:* #wikimedia-office Google+ page <https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/103470172168784626509/events/c8fnclmkeam2gbrng1cn0g99mi0>, another place for questions *Talk description: *This talk will cover why developers do (and don't) use any of the wide variety of client libraries available to get and post data through the MediaWiki API. We'll talk about writing tools with an eye to developer experience, go through the "gold standard" for MediaWiki API client libraries (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Client_code/Gold_standard) and the thinking behind it, and share some of the resources available for both library writers and library users. If you write or maintain an API client library, you'll learn about what you can do to help your library get out of the way and let developers who work with it spend their mental energy on putting together exciting projects, not on fighting with tools. If you work with the MediaWiki API (write bots, do research, maintain wikis), you'll learn what to consider when you're choosing a framework for your project. Either way, you'll start to appreciate all the factors beyond a library's code that make the difference between fun and easy development and a frustrating slog.