Null references redux

[BCS]

Hello Lutger,

> BCS wrote:
> 
>> Hello Lutger,
>> 
>>> The answer may
>>> depend on [...]
>>> the habits of the 'programmers' in question, I don't know.
>> If you can't trust the programmer to write good code, replace them
>> with someone you can trust. There will never be a usable language
>> that can take in garbage and spit out correct programs.
>> 
> Hi. I don't think this argument will work, for several reasons:
> 
[...]
> 
> Do you maintain that a programmer who can't deal with non-nullable
> references without hacking them away is unusually incompetent?

Incompetent? No. But I wouldn't want to hire a programer that *habitually* 
(and unnecessarily) hacks past a feature designed to prevent bugs. The best 
race car driver in the world is clearly not incompetent but would still get 
a ticket on public roads for speeding or following to close.

> I don't
> know about this. Actually I suspect non-nullable references by default
> are in the end safer (whatever that means), but only if they don't
> complicate the use of nullable references.

I'll second that.