Re:If Java Is Dying, It Sure Looks Awfully Healthy
by wes-exp on Thursday October 10, 2013 @10:20AM
(#6527848)
"You need static typing to have Java-like tools"
This is a widely repeated myth. Static typing does enable a few additional autocomplete capabilities, but most of the other things you probably think of as fancy IDE features are completely possible for dynamic languages.
For example, using Common Lisp with emacs and SLIME, I have:
Function/method name completion, Variable name completion, Jump to definition, Show callers, Rename (heuristic, but usually better than static analysis), Extract method, All sorts of interactive debugging capabilities, Documentation lookup, and Numerous compile-time static analysis checks including type errors!
This is a widely repeated myth. Static typing does enable a few additional autocomplete capabilities, but most of the other things you probably think of as fancy IDE features are completely possible for dynamic languages.
For example, using Common Lisp with emacs and SLIME, I have:
Function/method name completion, Variable name completion, Jump to definition, Show callers, Rename (heuristic, but usually better than static analysis), Extract method, All sorts of interactive debugging capabilities, Documentation lookup, and Numerous compile-time static analysis checks including type errors!