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by ilurkedhere 3553 days ago
What on Earth is "enterprise-level type checking"?
5 comments

In enterprise software you do one extra type check.
> What on Earth is "enterprise-level type checking"?

It doesn't mean anything. I guess the author just meant static typing.

I thought that too. What a bizarre phrase to apply to a language he clearly loves. Enterprise level type checking normally means supporting pretty much just the concept of "classes" (ala Java) and calling it a day - leaving the developer(s) to take the burden and create all sorts of god awful "design patterns" to work around fundamental flaws in their language of choice.

I know that is not the case with TypeScript. I believe the recent version added support for union types which is going to blow the mind of the naive JavaScript masses, for sure.

Describing any language as "enterprise grade" is rarely a good thing. Wording and phrasing is important.

Enterprise-level capabilities. I know the E-word is taboo here but aren't you people exaggerating a but on the trolling?
"Enterprise-level capabilities" doesn't mean anything still.

Google is bigger than most enterprises, and they don't use any "enterprisey" stuff, not even in their Java.

Oh come on, you're not even trying. He means, the type checking and refactoring capabilities that you want to have in a large team that relatively quickly changes composition. I.e. the kinds of teams you often find in enterprises.

I doubt Google doesn't use any of the type checking and refactoring tools that come with all Java IDEs out there. You think they rename Java methods with command-line search&replace just to stay in touch with their inner startup? Come on. They're an enterprise like any other and they use what the OP calls "enterprise-level type checking and refactoring capabilities".

I agree that it's a stupid name but I think you're misunderstanding on purpose.

>* Oh come on, you're not even trying. He means, the type checking and refactoring capabilities that you want to have in a large team that relatively quickly changes composition. I.e. the kinds of teams you often find in enterprises.*

I rarely find such large teams in enterprises.

What I usually find is ad-hoc projects, some in VB6, some targeting IE6 in 2016 still, others in J2EE with "enterprise" application servers, etc. Most done by 1 to half a dozen people. And I don't see them "quickly changing composition" -- the same persons work in the same IT deps for decades...

>I doubt Google doesn't use any of the type checking and refactoring tools that come with all Java IDEs out there. You think they rename Java methods with command-line search&replace just to stay in touch with their inner startup?

No, I mean there's nothing enterprisey about refactoring.

> the same persons work in the same IT deps for decades...

Guess I've found my solution to my persistent angst over the repeated 'old geeks are screwed' stories around here!

Well, of course. Old geeks are screwed on startups and startup-y companies.

The enterprise IT (and the financial sector, major organizations, etc) are the places where old geeks are quite ok -- if not to hire, surely to keep past 40 and 50 when they have already been working for you. The median age in an IT department in a large enterprise is much higher than in any SV startup.

Can people die from code written at Google?
Sure. E.g. flaw in Gmail exposes identities of harassed persons to their ex-spouses, etc.
Did you ever wrote Android or GWT code?
Android yes. It's a horrible mess. But I don't understand your point :-)
> they don't use any "enterprisey" stuff, not even in their Java.

It doesn't get more enterprisey than that.

Ah right, i misparsed HN's significant whitespace and thought you were responding to me. Agree!
I took it to mean the age old type checkers that had zero inference and were more of an annoyance than anything. I'm a bit jaded though.

"Modern" type checking is mostly about not writing types and strong inference