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NewsMSDN Magazine: May 2016 Pin
Kent Sharkey2-May-16 9:30
staffKent Sharkey2-May-16 9:30 
GeneralRe: MSDN Magazine: May 2016 Pin
Sascha Lefèvre3-May-16 2:30
professionalSascha Lefèvre3-May-16 2:30 
GeneralRe: MSDN Magazine: May 2016 Pin
Kent Sharkey3-May-16 5:59
staffKent Sharkey3-May-16 5:59 
NewsMicrosoft’s latest version of SQL Server is set to launch June 1st Pin
Kent Sharkey2-May-16 9:28
staffKent Sharkey2-May-16 9:28 
NewsA mysterious object from Earth's distant past has returned Pin
Kent Sharkey1-May-16 17:17
staffKent Sharkey1-May-16 17:17 
GeneralRe: A mysterious object from Earth's distant past has returned Pin
den2k881-May-16 21:18
professionalden2k881-May-16 21:18 
NewsType Wars Pin
Kent Sharkey1-May-16 9:07
staffKent Sharkey1-May-16 9:07 
GeneralRe: Type Wars PinPopular
Marc Clifton1-May-16 15:47
mvaMarc Clifton1-May-16 15:47 
Great article.


As programs grew ever more complicated in the late 70s and early 80s, the problem of keeping your types straight began to get out of hand.


And it still is.


Today we call that discipline: Test Driven Development.


Exactly -- the only way to verify you haven't screwed up is to test, test, and test. And, as I recently wrote[^], "[This] is why developers who promote duck-typed languages also strongly promote unit testing. Unit testing, particularly in duck-typed languages, is the "fix" for making sure you haven't screwed up the type."


we have repeatedly seen, unit test coverage close to 100% can, and is, being achieved.


Really? Where? Not any Ruby or Python code I've seen over the last 5 years. I think that's a complete fiction, and is the one flaw in an otherwise really great post.


dynamic languages will become the preferred languages.


I hope not. Because at least in the experience of this old programmer, duck-typed languages are great for rapid prototyping, but they're also the path to rapid disaster. I also find productivity reduced, especially when I either have to run the code to see if I screwed something up that, heck, I don't even have to compile the C# code, the Visual Studio IDE will redline it for me in the editor, or I have to take the time to write a unit test.

But what do you expect. From what I've seen, people who write with duck-typed languages don't even use an IDE. I work with one guy who actually adamantly refuses to use an IDE. He does everything in Sublime. Now, granted, Sublime is an awesome editor, but at best all it does is syntax highlighting and some smart auto-completion, and yes, I use it and love for when I have to work in Javascript and Python across a VM bridge, the auto-SFTP is awesome, but nothing, absolutely nothing (except maybe what JetBrains is working on with their C# IDE) comes close to what Microsoft has achieved with Visual Studio.

For me, there is no war. For anything but small scale projects, duck-typed languages are absolutely the wrong choice, and at this point, I'd rather be flipping hamburgers than writing flippin' unit tests to verify something the IDE can tell me I did wrong when I use a strongly typed language.

Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly

Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project!

Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny

GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
Vark1112-May-16 7:19
Vark1112-May-16 7:19 
GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz2-May-16 8:43
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz2-May-16 8:43 
GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
Kevin McFarlane3-May-16 1:33
Kevin McFarlane3-May-16 1:33 
GeneralRe: Type Wars PinPopular
BillWoodruff1-May-16 22:10
professionalBillWoodruff1-May-16 22:10 
GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
Marc Clifton2-May-16 2:07
mvaMarc Clifton2-May-16 2:07 
GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
BillWoodruff2-May-16 6:18
professionalBillWoodruff2-May-16 6:18 
GeneralRe: Type Wars Pin
Bassam Abdul-Baki2-May-16 4:37
professionalBassam Abdul-Baki2-May-16 4:37 
NewsMicrosoft offers Azure Cool Blob Storage for as little as $.01 per GB Pin
Kent Sharkey1-May-16 8:25
staffKent Sharkey1-May-16 8:25 
NewsFBI may soon be allowed to hack computers anywhere in the world Pin
Kent Sharkey1-May-16 8:23
staffKent Sharkey1-May-16 8:23 
GeneralRe: FBI may soon be allowed to hack computers anywhere in the world Pin
PIEBALDconsult1-May-16 8:25
mvePIEBALDconsult1-May-16 8:25 
GeneralRe: FBI may soon be allowed to hack computers anywhere in the world Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter1-May-16 22:51
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter1-May-16 22:51 
NewsDo experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
Kent Sharkey1-May-16 8:20
staffKent Sharkey1-May-16 8:20 
GeneralRe: Do experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
PIEBALDconsult1-May-16 8:24
mvePIEBALDconsult1-May-16 8:24 
JokeRe: Do experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
VR Karthikeyan1-May-16 21:36
professionalVR Karthikeyan1-May-16 21:36 
GeneralRe: Do experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter1-May-16 21:07
professionalKornfeld Eliyahu Peter1-May-16 21:07 
GeneralRe: Do experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
VR Karthikeyan1-May-16 21:37
professionalVR Karthikeyan1-May-16 21:37 
GeneralRe: Do experienced programmers use Google frequently? Pin
Weylyn Cadwell2-May-16 8:18
Weylyn Cadwell2-May-16 8:18 

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