Curl Won. And That’s the Worst News for Your API.
Curl persists because it’s the lowest common denominator of machine-to-machine communication — it doesn’t solve integration cleanly, it standardizes the mess. Every new specification fragments further, so curl remains the glue holding incompatible systems together. This isn’t pragmatism; it’s a surrender that reveals the stagnation of API design. The real question: are you choosing compatibility because you must, or because you’re too tired to build something better?