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> the code will typically compile. It may compile, but won't pass the test. Are you under the impression that a developer suddenly becomes blind after compilation and somehow magically won't see that the test failed? That doesn't happen. How are you going to forget? In reality, your forgetfulness is going to be made loud and clear. –– We offered a challenge to another account. He failed miserably, as did I, but maybe you can do better? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42865349 And, before you even think it, no, you cannot skip that test in another language with pattern matching. There is nothing pattern matching can do to help you with what it is testing. It should be obvious to you that even if you do successfully pattern match, you might, for example, "forget" to return the right value. The documentation and additional checks and balances are required either way. The type system does not save you here. And, before you even think it, no, "but what if I am a dummy who doesn't understand his tools or how to program???" doesn't work either as if you are that dummy then you aren't going to use the right types to activate the pattern matching semantics of which we speak, so pattern matching is not going to notice anyway. There is a necessary assumption in this discussion that you understand the tools, idioms, and software engineering in general. We cannot even meaningfully talk about pattern matching alone without that assumption. So, how are you going to forget, exactly? You won't. This isn't a real thing. Pattern matching is cool, though, with many real benefits. It is funny that someone decided to focus on a made up benefit instead of what makes it actually great. But this is a commonly repeated trope so I'm sure we got here because he blindly repeated it without thinking about it for even a millisecond. |