I'm not sure if you heard this criticism from others, but I believe the "above" and "below" the API definitions need to be flipped.
Being above the API should mean that you are controlled by it. Being below it should mean you are telling robots what to do.
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This is how software engineers would understand this, as being "below" something in programming typically means you're below it in the tech stack. Below the API is the backend code, data structures, and algorithms which are made available to others via the API.
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Ironically, this tells me that whoever came up with this idea first is not telling robots what to do.
We agree that they are "above the API" but they are blissfully ignorant that what that really means is not a good thing.
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Your emphasis might actually work best with a horizontal orientation: behind the api/in front of the api.
Also, not sure the metaphoric orientation in stacks is that clear. “Cloud” is above for example.
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Horizontal orientation makes sense too. Idk, somehow the stack is the most natural way for me to think about this. I see the API as what is "surfaced" to others, and below that are deeper layers in the tech stack. "Cloud" feels more consumer lingo than programmer.
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