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

[Carol Willing]

On 4/21/15 9:17 AM, R. David Murray wrote:
> Please be respectful rather than inflammatory.
Thank you David.
> If you read what I
> wrote, I did not say that I was going to stop contributing, I
> specifically talked about that gut reaction being both emotional and
> illogical.  That doesn't make the reaction any less real, and the fact
> that such reactions exist is a data point you should consider in
> conducting your PR campaign for this issue.  (I don't mean that last as
> a negative:  this issue *requires* an honest PR campaign.)
As David stated, gut reactions are real. These reactions have the 
potential, if listened to and respected, to lead toward an optimal (not 
ideal) solution.

Likely, the implementation of optional static type checking will evolve 
from reasoned, respectful debate of the issues not inflammatory quotes. 
Quite frankly, belittling someone's understanding or knowledge does not 
serve the PEP or technical issues at hand.

I like the option of static type checking for critical high availability 
and high reliability applications (i.e. air traffic control, financial 
transactions). I'm less interested in static type checking of inputs 
when prototyping or developing less critical applications.

There have been good technical points made by many on this thread 
especially given the different use cases. These use cases, and likely a 
few more, are important to an honest, continued technical refinement of 
the PEP.

Two areas of clarification would be helpful for me:

1. Optional: What does this really mean in practice? Am I opting in to 
static type checking and type hints? Or must I opt out of type hints? 
Having to opt out would probably put more burden on the educational use 
cases than opting in would for a large corporate project.

2. Clearly, great thought has been put into this PEP. If anyone has a 
good analysis of the potential impact on Python 3 adoption, please do 
pass along. I would be interested in reading the information.

Warmly,
Carol
P.S. I do member a time when tools to easily check for memory leaks in C 
were new and magical. Looking at the Coverity scans, I'm glad that the 
old magic is reaping real benefits.

-- 
*Carol Willing*
Developer | Willing Consulting
https://willingconsulting.com
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