Have you ever wondered why some APIs are a pain to use while others are pure joy? API design is perceived as a craft, something that we get better at by learning best practices and applying a set of rules. Read Effective Java & Clean Code, that should be enough, right?

At Square, we wanted to create a remarkable API for a new SDK, and I started researching the topic of usability and API design. It turns out that there's a science to this madness, and we can all learn to build better APIs without just blindly following good practices. Come to this talk to learn the practical steps we took to get there.