The fix for problems like this is not to ditch dynamic typing systems, but to use languages with strong types. You'll still have to wait until runtime, but once the code tries to use "five" as a number is going to crash and burn. Languages like Javascript or PHP that will happily do the wrong thing are pathological, there's no reason to allow such things. Unless your language is stupid simple and treats everything as a string or something, things have implicit types so use them!!

You're describing a weakly typed language, like PHP. Something like Python or Ruby would give similar errors as you described. And even Java, which is super finicky about types will have runtime errors that require you to do the same debugger-boogie as any other language.

Don't get me wrong, static typing can be a huge boon. But it can also be a huge pain, and in many situations hardly worth the hassle. The part I find most compelling about static typed languages is that you can understand a lot more from function signatures and the like. Seeing int foo(int bar) you know that, whatever the hell foo does, it's taking an int and giving one back. The compiler taking care of the sticky details involved in making sure that is always the case is a bonus.

While statically typed languages can be a pain, there are tangible benefits for using one. As far as dynamic typed languages, well, I'll settle for it being strongly typed. Weakly typed languages are awful.

Ugh, this is exactly what I've been dealing with lately. Got stuck using PHP for some project for reasons beyond my control. When I realized there was this "autoloader" thing magically loading and "linking" code without me explicitly having requested it, I understandably threw up my hands in despair. How are you supposed to know, at a glance, which parts of the project are being referenced by a particular class/file? Can you predict whatOh, right, "You need to know your framework," they say. But it's the frameworks that are full of this shit!!!

I've settled on accepting autoload as it is, since there's really no sane way around it. Which is very typical PHP: pathological solutions to insane problems. Throwing in use statements for every class you use is about the best you can do. Even those are a bit... off, but it sure the hell beats writing Foo\Bar\baz->doStuff($x); all over the place. And the PSR-4 guidelines seems to have caused many package maintainers to come up with... interesting namespace layouts.

Sorry about the rant. I'm pretty sure it's part of the grieving process, and Anger, Bargaining, and Depression are all co-incident.

Where have you been? He'd have to use Hack, that's the new hotness. Or something. And here I thought PHP couldn't get any uglier. It's practically worse than some of the more hoary C++ syntax out there.

They probably wouldn't force it, not exactly. They'll make it as hard to avoid as possible, while lauding all the benefits of linking this that and the other. "Blink here to +1 on Facebook!!", "Tell all your friends how good you are at this Skinner box disguised as a game!".

God only knows what other data it might send them, even if there's nothing directly identifying you they have enough data to correlate you with other data quite easily.

I didn't mean to imply that. However, it's hard to deny that the current trend of "MOAR TATTOOS" is just that, a trend. Once the fad has passed, tattoos will once again be the province of strippers, bikers, gang members, and tribal wannabes.

I suppose that, in case that the State decides to do the right thing and admit they fucked up, a life sentence can be lifted. The death penalty, not so much.

Of course there's too many political careers at stake to allow our the Judicial branch to admit wrongful conviction with any worthwhile frequency. The stories you hear about wrongful convictions being overturned are but drops in the vast bucket of convictions, right or wrong. And even if you're released after decades of imprisionment, your life has been ruined, all so some hotshot prosecutor could keep climbing up the ladder. It's a sick joke.

Am I to take from this comment that there are neckbeards, who think tattoos are absurd, and everyone else who apparently thinks tattoos are the coolest thing ever? At least a beard can be shaven once the owner changes their tastes, tattoos are forever. So good luck with that way cool skeleton fairy on your back, I'm sure the grand kids will think it's awesome, especially once your skin starts losing its plasticity and your former work of art looks like it was done on saggy bread dough.

Also thought I'd point out that I am quite clean shaven. In point of fact, I can't really even grow facial hair at all. I never considered that my facial hair, or lack thereof, would be such an influence on my opinions.

Unless one of your life goals is to achieve internet notoriety by being featured on Ugliest Tattoos.

Thing is, the tattoo trend is inevitably going to fade away, leaving all these dupes with their bodies covered in "art."

"Like, every single tat has a deep significance to me man. Like this Monster drink logo. That represents my susceptibility to advertisement and that my identity is tied up in what brands are cool or best. It's deep, man, you just don't get it. I'm going to get a yin yang on my forearm because, it's like, deep and I have no idea what cliche or trite means. I'm an individual, man. All my friends get tattoos, it's just cool!"

Whatever.

Shouldn't Bob be asking Mallory about a terrorism date next monday? Or is Mallory the NSA? I'm confused... can someone provide a car-centric metaphor?

It would be just as stunning with lossless compression like FLAC too. In fact, without trying to start an audiophile flamewar, a sufficiently high bitrate MP3 would be stunning too. Either way the audio would take up drastically less space.

Seems legit, must be actual game footage!