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Perhaps the programmer should be focused on the purpose the code serves, rather than the code as code object. Mental cycles devoted to thinking about types are,
by spenrose 8y ago
Perhaps the programmer should be focused on the purpose the code serves, rather than the code as code object. Mental cycles devoted to thinking about types are, for most programs, overhead. It's perfectly reasonable to be a strong static-typing believer, though I am not. But it's also perfectly reasonable not to think about types when coding, as millions of useful programs have demonstrated.
- Skunkleton 8y agoWhat do you mean by types? Most modern languages have fairly extensive type systems.
- steveklabnik 8y agoFWIW, I've found many people new to programming expect something like types, even though they don't have the vocabulary for it yet. It really just depends on the individual.
- spenrose 8y agoSure. And many people new to skiing expect something like gussets to keep the snow out of their underwear when they fall. Issue is whether skiing is about clothing or moving over the landscape. Some focus on your clothes is appropriate, and more in certain circumstances. Rust, which I see you are a proselytizer for (I was at Mozilla during Rust's ramp-up, FWIW), is a tool for writing code that is closely integrated with the operating system. In that context, a type-centric mindset is necessary and valuable. If you are writing code in other contexts: exploratory data analysis, a simple Android app, and on and on, then types are there, but programming is not type management
- steveklabnik 8y agoSure, that's why both kinds are useful. I don't disagree at all.