Which interface am I supposed to use and which method is considered doing_it_wrong?

I don't understand why you think there should be only one way to do things, or why any particular method would be "wrong".

If it works and produces the desired result, then that's all that matters. Yes, there may be other ways to achieve the goal, and some of them may be easier or simpler or just different, but...

Cooking isn't about following the recipe precisely. Not all the time.