Typing system vs. Java

[June Kim]

First of all, Python's dynamic typing nature can be a definite godsend when
combined with proper disciplines -- such as UnitTesting,
TestFirstProgramming
and RefactorMercilessly from XP. XP is one of the new agile methdologies,
which is quite a hot issue over the IT world.

Dave Thomas, who wrote the wonderful book "The Pragmatic Programmer", wrote
about the benefits of dynamic typing:
http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?DavidThomasOnTheBenefitsOfDynamicTyping.

And there are some other stuffs including hot discussions  worth while to
read on the
same site:
http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?DynamicTypesEaseRefactoring,
http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?BenefitsOfDynamicTyping

My link is broken, but I believe you can find the forum lead by Rob C.
Martin
(aka Uncle Bob) at http://forums.itworld.com/, which discussed about cons
and
pros of dynamic typing (mainly on pros) and how to take advantage from it.

It might look like a deficiency that Python doesn't have static typing at
first, as it looked so to me, but you'll see it's rather liberating than
constraning, moreover, with strong confidence on the code.

Best wishes,

June Kim

ps. Python doesn't have compile-time type checking but you can substitute
it with unit tests if you want.