Static type-checking is dead, long live static type-checking in Python!

A few months ago, Guido unfolded PEP 484, which was highlighted at PyCon 2015 as a keynote presentation. This proposal would introduce type hints for Python 3.5. While the debate is still roaring and without taking a side, I believe that there is much to learn from static type-checking systems.

The purpose of this talk is to introduce ways that could be used to fully take over the amazing power that comes with static types, inside a dynamic type language such as Python. The talk will go over what exactly a static type system is, and what kind of problem it tries to solve. We will also review Guido’s proposal of type hinting, and what it could mean to you. Finally, I will present a few libraries that are available, such as Hypothesis or various QuickCheck-inspired library that tries to build more robust tests, how they achieve it and their limitations. Throughout the talk, a lot of examples will used to fully illustrate the ideas being explained.

At the end of this talk, you should have a better understanding of the wonderful world of type systems, and what it really means to you. It should help you decide wether using type hints will be helpful to you and also if an external library trying to fuzz your tests has its place inside your project