| Beginner - Basic usage | Characteristic | CharacteristicType |
| Intermediate - Setting options for algorithms and data structures | CharacteristicSetType | |
| Advanced - Setting more advanced options and customization | CharacteristicRegisterAll | CharacteristicRegisterDynamic | CharacteristicRegister |
| Developer - Interfaces intended primarily for library developers, not for typical applications programmers | CharacteristicFinalizePackage | CharacteristicInitializePackage | CharacteristicSetUp |
| No deprecated routines |