this is short-sighted. I am not talking about trivial string-instead-of-an-integer errors here. powerful type systems let you encode far more sophisticated constraints on the program. safe rust makes data races into a compile-time error via its type system, for example. unit tests can't do that.

I think you're greatly underestimating what types can do for you. you seem to have this mental model where you would write the exact same kind code with a type checker as without one, and the only difference is whether you have to convince some pedantic bureuacrat that your code is correct when you already know it is.

but when you have a powerful type system, you don't write the same kind of code. the type systems helps drive design, similar to how tests can drive design. you have probably seen code that is bad because it wasn't written with testing in mind. there wouldn't be much value in adding unit tests to the code right away -- you probably need to do some highly invasive re-architecting to make it testable.

so, is it really such a stretch of the imagination that code can also be deficient because it's untypeable? perhaps the reason you don't see much benefit to types is because you didn't write the code with types in mind, as a design tool.

there is a learning curve to writing testable code. the same is true for types.

read this if you haven't, about type-driven design: https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/series/designing-with-type...