Skip to content
Back to Technical documentation
PricingLog in

Software engineering

Reading API reference pages

Parameters, return values, examples, and compatibility notes answer different questions about an API.

Tyler copies searchTitles("maps", 3) from a library's documentation into his app. It gives back three book titles, but he wants more. Where can he find out how to ask for more?

Start the lesson

4 minutes. No sign-up needed.

What you'll learn5 ideas
  • A parameter is a named input, like query for search words and limit for the most results.
  • A default is the value the library uses when you leave an optional input out, and an example's number is just one chosen value.
  • A required parameter must always be given, so code that skips the search words gets rejected.
  • The return value is what the code gives back, such as a list of titles, or an empty list [] when nothing matches.
  • A compatibility note, like Added in version 2.0, tells you which version of the library has a feature.
Chapter 8: Technical documentation5 lessons · 19 min
  1. 1Searching official documentation3 min
  2. 2Reading API reference pages4 min
  3. 3Documentation versions and compatibility3 min
  4. 4Evaluating tutorials and samples3 min
  5. 5Challenge: Technical documentation6 min
Go to the chapter

This lesson is part of the Software engineering course.

Example plan3 lessons · 10 min

Searching official documentation3 min
Reading API reference pagesTechnical documentation4 min
Documentation versions and compatibilityTechnical documentation3 min

An example. Your plan follows your answers, so it can start later and end sooner.

Build my plan

Start free, no account needed.