https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/05/whats-your-apis-time-to-200/ Terence Eden's Blog What's your API's "Time To 200"? 2021-05-21 by @edent | #api #developers | 1 comment | Read ~135 times. --------------------------------------------------------------------- M'colleague Charles has introduced me to the most spectacular phrase - "Time To 200". That's a measurement of the length of time it takes a new user to go from signing up to your API to getting their first HTTP 200 response. Think about the last time you started using a new API... * Fill in a tediously long registration form * Set up billing in case you go over the free trial limits * Wait for a confirmation email * Unsubscribe from all the marketing emails * Find the quickstart documentation * Realise it is outdated and consider raising an issue on the GitHub issues graveyard * Generate an API key and configure all its scopes * Install a 3rd party NPM library and a gigabyte of required packages * Work out how to authenticate the request - hard given the tutorial uses V1.3.4 and you're on V1.3.4.0.1b * Send the first request, and realise that you had to manually add your IP address to the allow-list * Try again, but realise you need to sign the request with a unique timestamp * Receive an HTTP 429 error for sending too many requests * Have a pint * Try again, get an HTTP 200! Success! You're a real developer now! The above is only a minor exaggeration. Every time I sign up to play with a new API, I'm grimly aware of my own mortality. Every minute I waste doing battle with your incomplete documentation and dreadful attitude to new users, is a minute I could spend doing something more fun instead. Please, I beg of you, optimise your Time To 200! --------------------------------------------------------------------- More posts from around the site: One thought on "What's your API's "Time To 200"?" 1. [NrEeD1Q9] HN Front Page says: 2021-05-22 at 17:14 What's your API's "Time To 200"? L: shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/05/w... C: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=272325... Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment[ ] Name * [ ] Email * [ ] Website [ ] [ ] Notify me of follow-up comments by email. [ ] Notify me of new posts by email. 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