I agree that defensive checks may clutter code, but in the current landscape of constant security issues, to not use a battery of defensive checks whenever dealing with input is simply naive, no matter the IDE, compile language or runtime language.
To help with readability but allowing for complex input checks, I typically abstract the input validation to another function, called near the top.
I think as time goes on type checking will be the least of our issues. Checking for different types of abuse (technical, social, semantic), context sensitive boundaries, setting tripwire-esque traps to control abuse etc will make any current concerns over type checking seem elementary.
We need to give up on the idea of coding 3 line, beautiful functions that look great on Twitter and realize we live in a time where defense and privacy are a priority, while (some how) simultaneously pushing innovation.
I hate it, trust me, but if you talk to typcial corporate/business clients, this is where their thoughts/concerns are currently. I realize it’s a bigger conversation than what I’m mentioning here.
