Type Systems
Learn to deal with different types of programming languages.
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Dealing with different languages
When we refer to something like 42 in code, is that a number, a string, or what? If you have a function like factorial(n), what kind of thing is supposed to go into it, and what’s supposed to come out? The type of elements, functions, and expressions is essential. How a language deals with types is called its type system.
The type system can be an important tool for writing correct programs. For example, in Java, we could write a method like this:
public long factorial(long n){// ...}
In this case, both the learner and the compiler can easily deduce that factorial() should take a number and return a number. Java is statically typed because it checks types when code is compiled. Trying to pass in a string simply won’t compile.