Type checkers aren't just error detectors

Type checking is frequently put forward as a way to find errors that otherwise would have slipped through testing. I've never found this a very compelling argument, though. Before software is released, or even a patch committed to the shared repository, the developers go through various kinds of effort to convince themselves that the latest changes to the software behave correctly. There are a myriad of ways to do that, ranging across code inspection, testing, and formal methods, but whatever ways are chosen, the software doesn't move forward until it's been verified. At that point, not that many type errors can realistically remain.

There are larger advantages to having a type checker. Let me describe three.

Data Modelling. A lot of what programmers do is develop a model of the data their programs work on. All modelling approaches I know, bar none, involve using types. For example, ORM, UML, XML DTDs, Protobuf schemas, and SQL schemas all use types prominently. If you have types in the programming language, then the program itself can embed parts of the data model explicitly.

A Second Perspective. In all software groups I have been a part of, most of the software written gets far less code review than would be beneficial. Software gets much better just by having people scan their eyes across it and think about it, but practicing engineers dread spending the time to do it. A type checker forces programmers to understand their code two ways: the logical behavior, and the type signatures. By doing so, they force programmers to do a little bit more code review.

Adding rigidity. Typed languages have a higher percentage of sensible programs in them. Just like it's easier to dial a TV than a radio, it's easier to code in a typed language. You can turn a TV dial to just any old location; you have to choose among a small, discrete number of settings. When writing new program code, you can write a rough sketch and then use the type checker to guide you on the details. For refactoring, you can make an inital change and let the IDE guide you to the other ones. It's much faster than if you have to run the test suite more often or have to filter through raw text searches.