What is the deal with API documentation that can seem so terse to a hobbyist?

j4k3@lemmy.world to Programming@programming.dev – 59 points –

I've encountered this many times where I simply don't understand the context and use of an API based of the API documentation unless I can find an example that already utilizes it in a working project. The first thing that comes to mind is Py Torch. I've tried to figure out how some API features work, or what they are doing in model loader code related to checkpoint caching but failed to contextualize. What harebrain details are obviously missing from someone who asks such a silly question?

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I do find that everything related to Python is especially badly documented and/or maintained. Maybe I'm just not looking the in right place though? I don't generally use Python as my primary language.

Untyped function definitions + *args + *kwargs + args that can be of many types + strings used as enums don't help. The language that imo needs the most documentation is at the same time the one that lacks it the most.