I added a new AI topic to my API doc course: Using AI to learn coding. One challenge API technical writers face is understanding developer code and tools. This is by far the most intimidating aspect of being an API technical writer. As if documenting code for one project weren't enough, API technical writers must also support multiple projects simultaneously, often with different types of code. You might document a Java API for one project, a REST API for another project, some Go code for an SDK, some C++ code for another project, and so on. It can be nearly impossible to be fluent in all of these languages. Fortunately, you can use AI tools to learn code more efficiently. AI tools can act like a friendly programming buddy who is sitting next to you, ready to explain anything you want, at whatever technical level you need. You can zero in on a specific question or broaden it out to increase your understanding from ground zero.
I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.
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