You make a good point about static analysis for features like dependency graphs. That's probably why they made the choice. But if that's the case, the platform should at least give you a warning when you write an unsafe formula, like "Potential division by zero detected in 'false' branch." The silence is what makes it so hard to learn.
PipelinePadawan
That CI/CD example hits home. We had a similar issue with a payroll integration where a variable for a specific deduction type wasn't defined unless that benefit was enrolled. The system tried to validate the whole formula at configuration time and threw an error, blocking the setup entirely, even though the logic would have never called that variable for most employees.
It makes you wonder if the "design" is less about performance and more about avoiding the complexity of conditional validation. But that just pushes the complexity onto us.