SDK Specifics

Overview

Each provider's SDK has different APIs, async patterns, and error handling.

Choosing an SDK affects your entire architecture.

---

Anthropic SDK

Key Features

from anthropic import Anthropic
import anthropic

class AnthropicSDK:
 """Anthropic SDK patterns"""

 def __init__(self):
 self.client = Anthropic(api_key="sk-ant-...")

 def sync_call(self):
 """Synchronous API call"""

 response = self.client.messages.create(
 model="claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
 max_tokens=1024,
 messages=[
 {"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}
]
)

 return response.content[0].text

 async def async_call(self):
 """Async API call"""

 async_client = Anthropic() # Auto-uses async

 response = await async_client.messages.create(
 model="claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
 max_tokens=1024,
 messages=[
 {"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}
]
)

 return response.content[0].text

 def handle_errors(self):
 """Anthropic error handling"""

 try:
 response = self.client.messages.create(
 model="claude-3-5-sonnet",
 messages=[{"role": "user", "content": ""}]
)
 except anthropic.APIError as e:
 # API error
 print(f"API Error: {e}")
 except anthropic.RateLimitError:
 # Rate limit
 print("Rate limited")
 except anthropic.APIConnectionError:
 # Network error
 print("Connection error")

---

OpenAI SDK

Key Features

from openai import OpenAI
import openai

class OpenAISDK:
 """OpenAI SDK patterns"""

 def __init__(self):
 self.client = OpenAI(api_key="sk-...")

 def sync_call(self):
 """Synchronous API call"""

 response = self.client.chat.completions.create(
 model="gpt-4",
 messages=[
 {"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}
]
)

 return response.choices[0].message.content

 async def async_call(self):
 """Async API call"""

 async_client = OpenAI()

 response = await async_client.chat.completions.create(
 model="gpt-4",
 messages=[
 {"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}
]
)

 return response.choices[0].message.content

 def handle_errors(self):
 """OpenAI error handling"""

 try:
 response = self.client.chat.completions.create(
 model="gpt-4",
 messages=[{"role": "user", "content": ""}]
)
 except openai.APIError as e:
 # API error
 print(f"API Error: {e}")
 except openai.RateLimitError:
 # Rate limit
 print("Rate limited")
 except openai.APIConnectionError:
 # Network error
 print("Connection error")

---

Comparison

Feature	Anthropic	OpenAI
Streaming	.stream()	stream=True
Async	AsyncAnthropic	AsyncOpenAI
Tool Use	tool_use blocks	tool_calls
Vision	Yes	Yes
Error Types	anthropic.*	openai.*

---

3 Warnings

Warning 1: API Key Management

# WRONG
ANTHROPIC_KEY = "sk-ant-..."
OPENAI_KEY = "sk-..."
# Hardcoded keys!

# RIGHT
import os
ANTHROPIC_KEY = os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")
OPENAI_KEY = os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")

Warning 2: Response Format

# WRONG
# Assume same response structure
response = client.messages.create(...)
content = response.content # Different per SDK!

# RIGHT
# Use SDK-specific accessors
if provider == "anthropic":
 content = response.content[0].text
elif provider == "openai":
 content = response.choices[0].message.content

Warning 3: Timeout Handling

# WRONG
# Assume same timeout mechanism

# RIGHT
# Set timeouts per SDK
anthropic_client = Anthropic(timeout=30.0)
openai_client = OpenAI(timeout=30.0)

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Last Updated: August 9, 2026