Some APIs are just great.
What are some of the funniest, weirdest, ugliest, most beautiful, easiest to understand, most rewarding once you know it or just in general awesome API that you have used?
I design APIs from time to time, and like to peruse API documentation in my spare time for inspiration (yes, I’m quite dull).
Some of my favorites include these gems from BeOS:
// returns true if and only if
// the computer is currently powered on
bool isComputerOn();
// if the processor is on fire, returns
// the temperature of the processor in
// degrees farenheit. Otherwise,
// returns some other number
float isProcessorOnFire();
This very recent classic in Android SDK:
// What a Terrible Failure: Report a
// condition that should never happen.
public static int wtf (String tag, String msg)
And this (also in Android):
// Returns "true" if the user interface is
// currently being messed with by a monkey.
public static boolean isUserAMonkey()
So, what are some of your favorite API-calls and why?
Would you think less of a “funny” API or would you rather enjoy using it more? Do you think there’s danger in being funny in code? What is your experience?