I’m not sure what the answer for this is, exactly. API design is hard. But I’ve noticed something about the way our code works:
We write SQL queries all the time. They’re highly optimized—each one is purpose-built for the task it needs to accomplish—but each one also intimately knows the database structure. It’s like our database is Gulliver, and each query embedded in our code is a Lilliputian rope across it. The more code that the business (inevitably) accumulates around the database, the harder it is for the database to move.
PHP & Perl Web Development, and the Craft of Programming
