Controlling External Libraries: Why It's Important for Developers

As a developer, it's important to have control over the external libraries that you use in your projects. One way to achieve this is by wrapping those libraries into self-created facades.

A facade is a design pattern that provides a simplified interface to a complex system. In the context of external libraries, a facade acts as a wrapper around the library's API, providing a simpler and more consistent interface to the library. By creating a facade for an external library, you can gain the following benefits:

1. Independence from the library's API: By using a facade, you can shield your code from changes to the external library's API. This means that if the library changes its API in a future version, you only need to update your facade to accommodate the changes, rather than updating all the code that uses the library directly.
2. Control over changes: When you wrap an external library in a facade, you have complete control over how you use the library. This means that you can choose which parts of the library to expose to your code, and how you want your code to interact with those parts. You can also add additional functionality to the facade, such as caching or error handling, without affecting the rest of your code.
3. Improved code maintainability: By using a facade, you can simplify your code and reduce its complexity. This makes it easier to maintain in the long term, as well as easier for other developers to understand and work with.

In addition to these benefits, there are several other reasons why you might want to create a facade for an external library. For example:

• Testing: By using a facade, you can mock the external library's API in your tests, making it easier to write and maintain your test suite.
• Security: By controlling how your code interacts with an external library, you can reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities caused by unexpected interactions with the library.
• Performance: By creating a custom facade, you can optimize the library's usage to improve the performance of your code.

If you create a simpler and more consistent way to use an external library, it can help you manage your code better.

Therefore, it is recommended that you wrap all your external libraries in facades to achieve these benefits.