alt Hacker NewsNo, it really isn’t that different. If I had a dynamic type system I would have to null check everything. If I have declare everything as a Maybe, I would have to null check everything.
For things that are invariants, that’s also trivial to check against with `if(!isValid(obj)) throw Error`.
Replies
dwb • today at 8:00 AM
Sure. The difference is that with a strong typing system, the compiler makes sure you write those checks. I know you know this, but that’s the confusion in this thread. For me too, I find static type systems give a lot more assurance in this way. Of course it breaks down if you assume the wrong type for the data coming in, but that’s unavoidable. At least you can contain the problem and ensure good error reports.
The point of a type system isn’t ever that you don’t have to check the things that make a value represent the type you intend to assign it. The point is to encode precisely the things that you need to be true for that assignment to succeed correctly. If everything is in fact modeled as an Option, then yes you have to check each thing for Some before accessing its value.
The type is a way to communicate (to the compiler, to other devs, to future you) that those are the expected invariants.
The check for invariants is trivial as you say. The value of types is in expressing what those invariants are in the first place.