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APIs are not source code | 270 comments | Create New Account
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APIs are not source code
Authored by: indyandy on Friday, April 20 2012 @ 05:21 AM EDT
I was trying to compose a response similar to yours but I was troubled by the word 'contract'.

To me 'contract' implies some admission of liability for failing to meet the contract but the T' s and C's for the Java download (like most other software) shouts that Oracle declines all responsibility for damages due to failure of its software and does not even confirm that it will even run.

4. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ORACLE FURTHER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT.

5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT SHALL ORACLE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR DATA USE, INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, EVEN IF ORACLE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ORACLE'S ENTIRE LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES HEREUNDER SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS (U.S. $1,000)

Bearing in mind their reluctance to take any responsibility for their code, surely their APIs are effectively something like this:

From our design and testing of our product we believe the following statements are true:

static double abs(double a) Returns the absolute value of a double value.

static float abs(float a) Returns the absolute value of a float value.

.
.
.
.

So - as PJ has already pointed out - the API is just a long list of facts - any fiction in the list is there by mistake.

As for the structure and layout of the document - can you imagine a lexicographer being obliged to put Aardwolf after Zwitterion because the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary has already put Aardwolf after Aardvark?

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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