• Feyd@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    2 days ago

    In my opinion, the biggest shortcoming of Python’s dynamic typing system is that you need to have very thorough test coverage to be sure that your code doesn’t have semantic errors

    That is a large shortcoming.

    • namingthingsiseasy@programming.devOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      2 days ago

      Sure, but as with all things, it can depend on a lot of factors. All code needs some degree of testing, though one could certainly argue that Python needs more than Java and Java needs more than Rust/Haskell/etc. So you could argue that the productivity gain of using Python is offset by the productivity loss of extra testing. It’s still hard to say which one wins out in the end.

      • Feyd@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        2 days ago

        People underestimate the cost of testing.

        1. It has to actually happen to be effective and is something that can be dropped under time pressure where something built into the language cannot.
        2. Test code is also code that is not guaranteed to be correct, and also incurs it’s own maintenance tolls

        Removing the need for entire classes of tests cases is a huge win