Type is a general term for a group of things sharing a common characteristic or set of characteristics. The word can be used in a variety of ways, including referring to types of fonts — serif, sans-serif, monospace and script — and type families, a system formalized in the nineteenth century to group fonts into dozens of categories like bold, italic and small caps. It can also be used to refer to a personality trait — the famous Type A personality, outlined by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman in their 1952 book about heart disease risk factors.

In computer programming, a type is a “description” of a class (and its properties and methods) that a compiler knows can be safely assumed at compile time. The type enables the compiler to check that the class is correct and prevents developers from doing wrong things with the class instance. For example, an int Type tells the compiler that the class is a number; the same can be said for string, float, and Boolean types in some languages.

People who possess a Type A personality are driven and highly motivated to achieve their goals, but can be overly competitive at times. Managing employees with these traits can be a challenge because they may overlook the emotions and needs of coworkers in their desire to push forward quickly. Those with Type A personalities can learn to balance their tendency to work intensely by working with a counselor or coach on their communication skills and identifying situations that trigger their irritability or temper. type