One day, Master Foo was browsing the Web, reading about optional typechecking on Guido's blog.

A great multitude of static typing zealots arrived up the mountain from the town below and begged an audience with Master Foo.

Zealots : We find Python kind-of interesting but the lack of typed variables makes it a non-starter for us. Once we learned about that, we ditched it. Everything we have learned, everything we *know* about programming tells us that you must have type checking performed at compile time. Otherwise there is chaos. Performance suffers, productivity suffers. It is obvious that Python is just plain wrong in this area. Do you think it can be fixed
Master Foo?

Master Foo: How many developers out there think like you lot?

Zealots: We are as commonplace as grains of sand or drops of rainwater. We make up the vast bulk of jobbing software development folk on the planet.

Master Foo: As I thought. Remember this : there are many stepping stones to enlightment. The placement of these stepping stones must be done with great care by the wise who wish to foster enlightenment in the not-so-wise. Sometimes stepping stones are a means to an end, sometimes they are an end in themselves.

Zealots: We do not understand you Master Foo.

Master Foo: If you don't have at least optional static typing, you will not consider Python for your next project - regardless of what you hear about how insanely productive it is?

Zealots: That is so.

Master Foo: Then stepping stones will be placed for you by the wise. You will see the stones as an end in themselves but in reality, they will be a means to an end.

Zealots: We do not understand you Master Foo.

Master Foo: Good. For if you did, the stepping stones would have to be re-arranged.

posted by Sean 5:08 AM

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posted by Sean 1:16 AM

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I will be speaking at the XML Summer School this year in Oxford, UK. Details still being worked out but I'll be talking at Lauren's Trends & Transients track and maybe some others. Topic yet to be decided. Suggestions welcome :-)

posted by Sean 9:01 AM

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Something interesting happens in my head when I switch from 'Drive C thinking' to 'Drive H thinking'. I've written it down here.

posted by Sean 3:19 AM

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Interesting.

I particular like the "Danger. Paradigm may shift." one.

posted by Sean 10:11 AM

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...or so Orkut tells me.

Today I logged into Orkut for the first time in many, many months. It just sort of slipped off my radar.

I remember the invite-fest that followed its initial launch. It seems to have calmed off dramatically - well short of verb status. Am I alone in thinking this? Has the thing been a runaway success without me noticing?

posted by Sean 6:37 AM

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