Kenneth Reitz Style Guide⁠‍⁠​‌​‌​​‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​​‌‌​​​‌‍​‌​​‌‌​​‍​​​​​​​‌‍‌​​‌‌​‌​‍‌​​​​​​​‍‌‌​​‌‌‌‌‍‌‌​​​‌​​‍‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌​‌​​​​‍​‌​‌‌‌‌‌‍​‌​​‌​‌‌‍​‌‌​‌​​‌‍‌​‌​‌‌‌​‍​​‌​‌​​​‍‌‌‌​‌​‌‌‍​‌​​​​​‌‍‌‌‌​​‌‌​‍​​​‌​​​​‍​‌‌​​​‌‌‍​​​​‌​‌​‍​​​​​‌​​⁠‍⁠

Overview

Kenneth Reitz created requests, the HTTP library that replaced Python's urllib2 by being dramatically simpler. His "for humans" philosophy prioritizes user experience above all—APIs should be intuitive, beautiful, and require minimal documentation.

Core Philosophy

"API design is UI design for developers."

"Simplicity is always better than functionality."

"Fit the 90% use case. Ignore the naysayers."

Reitz believes that the user's experience is paramount. If your API requires reading documentation for basic tasks, it has failed.

Design Principles

1. For Humans: Design for human beings first, not for edge cases or theoretical purity.