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To me it seems more like two wildly different forms of PTSD. For the former group (those who prefer static typing), unmaintainable and poorly documented spaghet

To me it seems more like two wildly different forms of PTSD. For the former group (those who prefer static typing), unmaintainable and poorly documented spaghetti code has been the most identifiable source of pain in their career while for the latter, it has been long iteration times due to bureaucratic nightmares caused by compiler and management. Like early childhood experiences, each programmer I've discussed the subject with seems to have their own unique professional experience that has molded their opinions. It's less a religion and more a coping mechanism for bad experiences.

jondubois 8y ago
For me, bureaucracy and TypeScript go hand in hand. There are benefits to using TypeScript, but they're not worth the problems. TypeScript gives an illusion of added productivity and safety but when you actually look at results, bug density is exactly the same as JavaScript. As a TS developer, most of your time is spent on catering to the compiler's complaints, but doing so doesn't actually yield any benefits in terms of producing high quality software. TS and TSLint are bandaid solutions which don't address the root problems behind what makes code bad (which 99% of the time comes down to bad design/architecture). TS simply cannot prevent bad design/architecture - It can only formalize it. It's nice to have linted code with everything typed and statically locked into place but that means very little in terms of actual code quality.
- akiselev 8y ago
  The reason Typescript has been so successful is that many of us don't have a choice in whether the beauracracy exists or not and have to pick up the pieces. Typescript is, by definition, a bandaid. That's what it was designed for.
jrs95 8y ago
Personally I've had a good amount of both experiences, and that's convinced me that either one will suck if you let them. Only good development practices can save you.

jondubois 8y ago

For me, bureaucracy and TypeScript go hand in hand. There are benefits to using TypeScript, but they're not worth the problems. TypeScript gives an illusion of added productivity and safety but when you actually look at results, bug density is exactly the same as JavaScript. As a TS developer, most of your time is spent on catering to the compiler's complaints, but doing so doesn't actually yield any benefits in terms of producing high quality software. TS and TSLint are bandaid solutions which don't address the root problems behind what makes code bad (which 99% of the time comes down to bad design/architecture). TS simply cannot prevent bad design/architecture - It can only formalize it. It's nice to have linted code with everything typed and statically locked into place but that means very little in terms of actual code quality.

akiselev 8y ago
The reason Typescript has been so successful is that many of us don't have a choice in whether the beauracracy exists or not and have to pick up the pieces. Typescript is, by definition, a bandaid. That's what it was designed for.

jrs95 8y ago

Personally I've had a good amount of both experiences, and that's convinced me that either one will suck if you let them. Only good development practices can save you.