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Comment: Re:Dynamically Typed? (Score 1) 134

by Hentes (#44054201) Attached to: Lobster, a New Game Programming Language, Now Available As Open Source

If you perform a conversion in a statically typed language and it's wrong, you know the second you try and execute, but in a dynamically typed language you may not know there's a problem until you hit some edge case input, which is more likely to get out into production due to the subtle nature of it.

Dynamic typing doesn't mean those languages are typeless. Type errors like trying to add a string to a number still get caught at runtime. Unlike static languages, where a wrong cast can make the code compile and the program will never complain afterwards, leaving you wondering where those segfaults are coming from.

Do you have any examples of the classes of problem you believe dynamic typing avoids but static typing doesn't? You make the assertion that if you unit and integration test a dynamically typed language you capture more mistakes than you would with a statically typed language. I don't think that's ever the case, because static type makes capture of certain errors explicit in the implementation, the faults are unavoidable when you attempt execution, whilst dynamic typing relies on you stumbling across the error during execution, which means to capture it with unit tests means it's only as good as your unit tests which will rarely be as good as explicit and inherent capture of errors.

Static error checking is a shallow way to test your code, and will only catch simple syntactic errors, that usually don't even occur in a dynamic language with a less complicated syntax. Regardless of the language you're using, testing should be done at runtime. And dynamic languages with their flexibilty and high reflectivity make unit testing much easier and much more powerful.

Cellphones

Echolocation For Your Cell Phone 73

Posted by samzenpus
from the map-it-out dept.
sciencehabit writes "In a few years, an iPhone app may give you a 3D layout of a room as soon as you step into it. Researchers have developed an algorithm that spits out the shape and contours of complex structures (including Switzerland's Lausanne Cathedral) using data compiled from four randomly placed microphones. The technology, which relies on the same sort of echolocation bats and dolphins use to navigate, could be used to develop more realistic echoes in video games and virtual reality simulations and to eliminate the echo from phone calls."
Security

To Hack Back Or Not To Hack Back? 183

Posted by Soulskill
from the wild-wild-cyberwest dept.
dinscott writes "If you think of cyberspace as a resource for you and your organization, it makes sense to protect your part of it as best you can. You build your defenses and train employees to recognize attacks, and you accept the fact that your government is the one that will pursue and prosecute those who try to hack you. But the challenge arises when you (possibly rightfully so) perceive that your government is not able do so, and you demand to be allowed to 'hack back.'"

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