Framework design guidelines
by Krzysztof Cwalina, Brad Abrams · first published 2000
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Practical guidance on designing usable, consistent reusable library APIs, with prescriptive Do/Don't rules and clear reasoning; recommended for working .NET developers and anyone writing libraries others must use.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…But when designing the API layer, they just start creating end points instead of focusing on the "DX" scenarios (developer experience, not theirs, but devs using the API). I remember reading Cwalina's "Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries" and really learning what that means. It is a book focused on .NET but I wish many of my colleagues in the open source world would get over…
on “The Worst API Ever Made?” ↗C++ provides many more ways to shoot yourself in the foot than most other languages, so it is in more need of such books. For coding in C#, Framework Design Guidelines[1] is an excellent book. I'd argue that with a little adjustment for conventions, it applies to Java too - and IMHO Java is in more need of the advice, as test-oriented code can lead to unwieldy, overcomplex…
on “The C++ and programming books I recommend” ↗For C#, Framework Design Guidelines by Cwalina & Abrams. Very clear and concise pointers for well structured and easy to read code. It's a little out of date now though, wish they'd update it to a third edition.
on “Ask HN: What books had the greatest effect on how you structure your code?” ↗…really want to rush designs. You want to be very, very careful about it. Here's a book about it from one of the most experienced people in API/Standard lib design on the planet https://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Conventio...
on “Ask HN: Was anyone working at Apple during Steve Jobs' return in 1997?” ↗I recommend the "Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries" book. http://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Convention...
on “Ask HN: Any good .NET books?” ↗Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries (2nd Edition) http://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Convention... is an interesting read and contains the result of actual work…
on “Ask HN: Best books in API design” ↗…with WCF - https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd203052.aspx 2. Restful API using WebAPI - https://github.com/Microsoft/api-guidelines/blob/master/Guid... 3. API via dll - https://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Conventio...
on “Ask HN: What are good reads for designing APIs?” ↗Though it's somewhat dated and C# oriented, the really, really fantastic Framework Design Guidelines by Brad Abrams and Krzysztof Cwalina is a thoughtful treatise on designing usable APIs. A lot of the things I read in there still resonate with me almost a decade later. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Convent...
on “Ask HN: What are good reads for designing APIs?” ↗I like Framework Design Guidelines by Cwalina, Barton, and Abrams. The 3rd edition was recently released. It's targeted at developing .NET frameworks with a broad audience so some of the guidelines aren't appropriate for internal APIs…
on “Ask HN: Suggestions for books about API design?” ↗Here are a few recommendations: Greenshot Open Live Writer System.Collections.Immutable PerfView If you want advice about how to use the framework then I would recommend Framework Design Guidelines.
on “What Are Some Examples of Well-Written C# Code?” ↗Brad is the guy who wrote the infamous "Framework Design Guidelines" a book that even though it's about .NET helped me (and a lot of developers) to write better APIs.
on “My Last Day at Microsoft - Brad Abrams” ↗…frameworks you use for example; That way you'll learn new techniques and ways to organize your code so it's more readable. Also it helps reading books like Code Complete and Beautiful Code. I recommend "Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries" even though I'm not a .NET programmer I really like that book. Watch other people coding: Get together with friends to pair program, or…
on “Ask HN: I think My code isn't Good enough” ↗Is there a good guide to writing canonical looking Objective-C /Cocoa APIs? I read the .NET Framework Design Guidelines back when I was doing .NET and it was an excellent how to guide on writing APIs that behaved and felt like they were part of the BCL. Something like that for Objective-C and Cocoa would be a boon.
on “NSLogger – a flexible logging tool for OS X and iOS” ↗I've been using C# and .NET for about a year. Here are the books that I have found helpful. Framework Design Guidelines - how to design libraries that anyone from Jon Skeet to Mort can use successfully Effective C# - how to implement the usual idioms properly CLR via C# - this is a dry read but has answers to many questions…
on “Ask HN: What C# books are highly recommended for professional .NET developers?” ↗I've been using C# and .NET for about 18 months. Here are some of the books and other materials that I have found helpful. Framework Design Guidelines - how to design libraries that anyone from Jon Skeet to Mort can use successfully. The focus is on library design but I have found it valuable for day to day coding. Effective C# - how to implement the…
on “Ask HN: Best C#/.Net resources?” ↗