[nanolith]

Sadly, I don't think that's a problem that a language alone can solve. Ada, for instance, is awesome with its runtime enforcement of design contracts, but all a programmer needs to do is change the contract and chaos ensues.

I'm a huge fan of strong typing. I'm also actively trying to find ways to improve static analysis and formal methods. But, if you can't trust your developers, it all eventually breaks down.

I find that for most mature projects, a good developer needs 3-6 months of ramp-up time, which should include knowledge transfer, training, and restricted commit access. The point of this isn't to haze the developer, but instead to give him/her a chance to fully grok the intent of the mechanisms in the code base and to (hopefully) present and socialize better options in a controlled way. More and more, I've come to the conclusion that a strong team mechanic is one of the mandatory components of good software. DBC, code reviews, unit testing, formal analysis, and static analysis all help to reinforce this mechanism, but if the tribal knowledge of the team breaks down, then so ultimately will the quality of the software produced.