Feedback: guides-do-more-with-sdk

Documentation Feedback

Original URL: https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/guides/do-more-with-sdk
Category: guides
Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:41:18 pm

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Claude Sonnet 4 Feedback

Generated: 05/08/2025, 4:41:17 pm

Technical Documentation Analysis & Feedback

Overall Assessment

This documentation provides useful SDK utilities but suffers from structural issues, missing context, and inconsistent depth. Here’s my detailed analysis:

🚨 Critical Issues

1. Missing Prerequisites & Context

Problem: The guide jumps into advanced features without establishing basic SDK usage.

Fix: Add a complete setup section:

## Prerequisites
- AssemblyAI account with API key
- Python 3.7+ or Node.js 14+
- Basic familiarity with AssemblyAI transcription workflow

## Quick Setup Review
Before diving into advanced features, ensure you have a working basic transcription:

[Include minimal working example for both SDKs]

2. Inconsistent SDK Feature Parity

Problem: JavaScript section uses raw API calls while Python uses SDK methods for retrieving transcripts.

Fix: Standardize approaches:

// JavaScript SDK method (should be primary)
const transcript = await client.transcripts.get("transcript_id");

// Raw API alternative (as secondary option)

📋 Structure & Organization Issues

3. Poor Information Hierarchy

Current structure is task-based but lacks logical flow.

Recommended structure:

# Do More With Our SDKs

## Setup & Maintenance
- Installation verification
- Version checking & updates
- SDK vs API approaches

## Error Handling & Debugging
- Basic error catching
- Advanced error scenarios
- Logging best practices

## Data Management
- Saving transcript data
- Retrieving previous transcripts
- Batch operations

## Advanced Usage Patterns
[Future sections]

4. Missing Error Context

Problem: Error handling is too simplistic.

Fix: Provide comprehensive error handling:

# Instead of just:
if transcript.error:
    print(transcript.error)

# Provide:
try:
    transcript = transcriber.transcribe(audio_url, config)
    if transcript.error:
        print(f"Transcription failed: {transcript.error}")
        # Handle specific error types
        if "authentication" in transcript.error.lower():
            print("Check your API key in the dashboard")
        elif "file" in transcript.error.lower():
            print("Verify your audio file URL is accessible")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"SDK Error: {e}")
    # Provide troubleshooting steps

🔧 Code Examples Issues

5. Incomplete Code Context

Problem: Code snippets assume existing context that may not exist.

Fix: Provide complete, runnable examples:

# Current: Fragment without imports
transcript = transcriber.transcribe(audio_url, config)

# Better: Complete example
import assemblyai as aai
import json

aai.settings.api_key = "your-api-key"
transcriber = aai.Transcriber()

audio_url = "https://example.com/audio.mp3"
config = aai.TranscriptionConfig()

try:
    transcript = transcriber.transcribe(audio_url, config)
    # Error handling code here...

6. Missing Import Statements

Problem: Python JSON example uses json.dumps() without importing json.

Fix: Always include necessary imports at the top of code blocks.

📖 Content Completeness Issues

7. Insufficient Explanations

Problem: “Why” and “when” context is missing.

Fix: Add context for each section:

## When to Check SDK Version
Check your SDK version when:
- Encountering unexpected errors
- Missing features mentioned in documentation
- Before reporting bugs
- After extended periods without updates

## Version Checking
[existing code with added context]

8. Missing Edge Cases

Fix: Address common scenarios:

## Handling Large Transcript Files
When saving large transcripts, consider:
- File size limitations
- Memory usage for JSON operations
- Streaming write operations for very large files

## Network Error Handling
Handle common network issues:
- Connection timeouts
- Rate limiting
- Temporary service unavailability

🎯 User Experience Issues

9. Placeholder Values Without Guidance

Problem: <YOUR_API_KEY>, <TRANSCRIPT_ID> without explanation of where to find them.

Fix:

Replace `<YOUR_API_KEY>` with your actual API key from your [AssemblyAI dashboard](link).
Replace `<TRANSCRIPT_ID>` with an actual transcript ID (format: `xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx`).

10. No Troubleshooting Section

Fix: Add common issues:

## Troubleshooting
### "Module not found" errors
- Ensure SDK is installed: `pip install assemblyai`
- Check virtual environment activation

### "Invalid API key" errors
- Verify API key from dashboard
- Check for extra spaces or characters

🚀 Recommendations for Improvement

Immediate Actions:

1. Add complete working examples for each section
2. Standardize SDK vs API usage patterns
3. Include all necessary imports in code blocks
4. Add troubleshooting section with common issues

Content Enhancements:

1. Add “When to use this” context for each feature
2. Include output examples showing what users should expect
3. Add links to related documentation sections
4. Provide performance considerations for each approach

Structure Improvements:

1. Group related functionality together
2. Add navigation/overview at the top
3. Include “Next steps” section pointing to advanced guides
4. Add estimated completion times for each section

This documentation has good foundational content but needs significant improvements in structure, completeness, and user guidance to become truly effective.

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