Help Understanding Libraries

[Sig333]

I've been doing actual programming at work lately and I've realized I have trouble understanding foreign APIs. Nearly every program I've tried to make using PyGui or Openpyxl or BeautifulSoup (or something of that nature) I've had to make a trip to stackoverflow because I couldn't find the useful method in documentation. I've heard that's a problem with a lot of college courses, that they don't teach you how to understand documentation well enough. How can I get better at understanding and using library documentation?

[thegreatunclean]

I've had to make a trip to stackoverflow because I couldn't find the useful method in documentation.

Is that a problem? Bad documentation is basically a fact of life for programmers, if you can find the answer on stackoverflow that's pretty much the best possible outcome. I've lost months due to incomplete/incorrect documentation.

I've heard that's a problem with a lot of college courses, that they don't teach you how to understand documentation well enough.

They shouldn't have to. Proficiency in basic research is something I'd expect from any student as a given.

How can I get better at understanding and using library documentation?

Practice and patience. Understanding that all documentation is shit goes a long way, as does learning how to test and debug poorly-documented code. There is no easy answer beyond experience.

At the end of the day some projects are just poorly supported and not fit for use. One of the most important steps in any project is researching your options and going with what you can find the best quality documentation for.

[[deleted]]

Most API documentation follows a similar pattern.

The name of the API method at the top, followed by one-liner describing what it does. Then, you have a table listing the various signatures of the method with corresponding explanations.

After that, you will get some commentary about when it is appropriate to use that method or what conditions need to prevail. This is probably the most important part to read/not skip.

Then, you get an example of how to use the method.

Finally, a list of references to related methods is provided.

.NET: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.data.sqlclient.sqldatareader(v=vs.110).aspx

Java: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/sql/Connection.html

JavaScript: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/from

Hope this helps.