I’m sorry, but I think this is so strange. I’ve never seen something like this before by a company.
So if you are a new developer today, the best Twitch can offer us right now is a deprecated API version. Here’s why.
Both v3 and v5 are deprecated and even is scheduled to be removed at the end of 2018.
So whatever we build now, we know its totally gonna need to be redone in next year.
And this is because the “new Twitch API” doesn’t have all the essential APIs up and running yet;
For example, why in earth is “webhooks” prioritized over “videos” in the roadmap? Webhooks is something new, but Videos is something that both v3 and v5 has today. I don’t understand why something that is a core part of v3 and v5, and is something that is used today by existing developers and products, is not moved first to the new Twitch API?
And to take “videos” as an example again, it is in the “exploring” column, which means “Products or features that we’re actively thinking about but haven’t started working on”. So when is Twitch planing to to release this? September 2018? Giving all developers who rely on it, to beta test the new video API, breaking their products, since the v5 will be removed 3 months later? Or after December 2018? We don’t know.
I wouldn’t mind that the “new Twitch API” focused on new cool features first, but don’t do that if you also deprecate all other APIs at the same time.
Have v5 up and running and supported, until you can guarantee that the new Twitch API can offer the same basic functionality for the developers.
By deprecating v5, Twitch is essentially encouraging developers to move to the new house. But the house is not finished built yet and lacks the same functionality as the old house (and maybe that functionality is as important as working electricity for certain developers). For no apparent reason.
Sorry for the rage, but Twitched asked for feedback and here’s mine.
Just imagine if Oracle deprecated Java 8, while working on Java 9? Or Google deprecated YouTube v3, while working on v4? But yet Twitch deprecates its only fully functional API in favor for an API that is still a work in progress.
I feel like Twitch is putting us in a unnecessary annoying situation by deprecating the other APIs while the new one does not even have the same basic functionality up and running.