program surgery vs. type safety

[Donn Cave]

In article <QAOsb.21403$hV.779611 at news2.tin.it>,
 Alex Martelli <aleax at aleax.it> wrote:
...
> I _know_ I'd feel differently if e.g. management didn't LET
> me do TDD and systematic testing because of deadline pressures.
> But I don't think I'd stay long in a job managed like that;-).

Nice for you.  Depending on the application, that's an option
for me too - but unlikely to be combined with the option to
write in Python.  Sometimes I believe a lot of the disparity
of reactions to programming languages comes from the fact that
we live in different worlds and have no idea what it's like to
work in other collaborative models, development tools, etc.  

It makes little difference here anyway, since as far as I can
tell no language remotely like Python could productively be
adapted to static typing.  In my world, the applications I write
and the free open source software I get from elsewhere  and have
to modify, static type analysis looks like more help than burden
to me.  See you next time around.

   Donn Cave, donn at u.washington.edu