[Python-Dev] Type hints -- a mediocre programmer's reaction

[Chris Withers]

On 20/04/2015 20:09, Paul Moore wrote:
> On 20 April 2015 at 19:41, Barry Warsaw <barry at python.org> wrote:
>>> tldr; type hints in python source are scary. Would reserving them for stub
>>> files be better?
>> I think so.  I think PEP 8 should require stub files for stdlib modules and
>> strongly encourage them for 3rd party code.
> Agreed. I have many of the same concerns as Harry, but I wouldn't have
> expressed them quite as well. I'm not too worried about actually
> removing annotations from the core language, but I agree that we
> should create a strong culture of "type hints go in stub files" to
> keep source files readable and clean.
>
> On that note, I'm not sure "stub" files is a particularly good name.
> Maybe "type files" would be better? Something that emphasises that
> they are the correct place to put type hints, not a workaround.
Or we could just be honest and admit that we're choosing to add header 
files to Python.

It's a shame, as it's more complexity, and it's being inflicted on those 
who might be writing a library for the first time, or those becoming 
core committers for the first time, or those just trying to "do the 
right thing".

Currently, the burden is a heavier one (type inference, rather than 
reading it from a file) but borne by people best placed to handle it 
(authors of IDEs, type checking software, etc).

Chris