Comment by vanderZwan
17 hours ago
I'm genuinely confused about what one would expect under "reference" that isn't effectively API-shaped (in the context of software). Like, I've never consciously thought of this before but I can't remember a time that they haven't effectively been synonyms in my mind when I'm navigatig documentation.
That's part of the problem. Some projects, when they move to diataxis, will create a top level section called "reference" and have a single item under it called "API" (or similar.)
Depending on the docs theme, it can require clicking through to get to it.
It is a minor annoyance.
edit: Also gonna tack onto this that my original comment reads way more acerbic than I actually feel. I was sleepy and didn't proofread for tone like I normally do.
Oh like that. I was thinking of situations where "reference" just directly links to the API keyword index, e.g. the P5 docs[0], putting a redundant extra page between that would annoy me too.
[0] https://processing.org/reference