My background is C and C++. I like Python a lot, but there's one aspect of it (and other interpreted languages I guess) that is really hard to work with when you're used to compiled languages.
When I've written something in Python and come to the point where I can run it, there's still no guarantee that no language-specific errors remain. For me that means that I can't rely solely on my runtime defense (rigorous testing of input, asserts etc.) to avoid crashes, because in 6 months when some otherwise nice code finally gets run, it might crack due to some stupid typo.
Clearly a system should be tested enough to make sure all code has been run, but most of the time I use Python for in-house scripts and small tools, which ofcourse never gets the QA attention they need. Also, some code is so simple that (if your background is C/C++) you know it will work fine as long as it compiles (e.g. getter-methods inside classes, usually a simple return of a member variable).
So, my question is the obvious - is there any way (with a special tool or something) I can make sure all the code in my Python script will "compile" and run?
Your code actually gets compiled when you run it, the Python runtime will complain if there is a syntax error in the code. Compared to statically compiled languages like C/C++ or Java, it does not check whether variable names and types are correct – for that you need to actually run the code (e.g. with automated tests).
How can I make sure all my Python code "compiles"?