[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Python?

["Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Raimar Falke [mailto:i-freeciv-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> To: Brandon J. Van Every
> >
> > Some people argue that only aggressive test suites can save you from
> > errors.  I am not sure.  I do write a lot of test suites for my own
> > code, but I am typically a lone wolf developer and in control of my
> > source pool.
>
> And do they catch all/all most all/most errors?

Yes, they do.  But I should be clear: my codebase for my game, Ocean
Mars, is C++.  I haven't integrated Python because that project is
currently on hold.  I don't think that's relevant; what is relevant is
I'm a micro-incremental developer, a source control fanatic.  A "really
horrible bug" for me is something that takes 2 days to solve, and that
rarely happens.  I rarely have any bugs in my source pool at all.
That's what you can do when you're a lone wolf and a test / source
control fascist.  It wouldn't matter what language I use.

Here are some links about type safety in Python:

"Strong Typing vs. Strong Testing"
http://mindview.net/WebLog/log-0025

the Aspects package, which allows design by contract.  i.e. if you
*really* care about solving type saftey issues, you need more than a
statically typed language's compiler checks.  You need to specify what
you want.
http://www.logilab.org/projects/aspects/project_view


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

Taking risk where others will not.