3.2 Dynamic Typing

Programming Groovy 2 — by Venkat Subramaniam (34 / 152)

👈 3.1 Typing in Java | TOC | 3.3 Dynamic Typing != Weak Typing 👉

Dynamic typing relaxes the typing requirements. We let the language figure out the type based on the context.

What’s the advantage of dynamic typing? Is it worth forgoing the benefit of type verification or confirmation at compile time or code-editing time? Dynamic typing provides two main advantages, and the benefits outweigh the costs.

We can write calls to methods on objects without nailing down the details at that moment. During runtime, objects dynamically respond to methods or messages. We can achieve this dynamic behavior to a certain extent using polymorphism in statically typed languages. However, most statically typed languages tie inheritance to polymorphism. They force us to conform to a structure rather than to actual behavior. True polymorphism does not care about types — send a message to an object, and at runtime it figures out the appropriate implementation to use. So, dynamic typing can help achieve a greater degree of polymorphism than traditional, statically typed languages allow.

The second advantage: we don’t fight the compiler with excessive casting efforts, as in the examples from Section 3.1, ​Typing in Java​.

We feel like we’re working with a language that’s intelligent and follows along with us. We’re more productive, partly because of less ceremony.

Working with static typing feels like having a nagging in-law standing next to us as we work — scrutinizing our every move. It doesn’t give us the full flexibility to defer some implementation to a later time (before the code is executed). Working with dynamic typing, conversely, feels like having a kind grandfather standing next to us as we work — letting us experiment, figure things out, and be creative, but standing by to offer help when we need it.

The first advantage — true realization of polymorphism — significantly improves the way we design applications, as we’ll discuss in Section 3.4, ​Design by Capability​.

👈 3.1 Typing in Java | TOC | 3.3 Dynamic Typing != Weak Typing 👉

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