The problem with this kind of “late-bound” expression is that the validity of the expression (eg: type checking) cannot be done until runtime. So it is tougher to be sure the app is correct and will run correctly. Many scripting languages are like this — they are late-bound and so you get more flexibility but you also get fewer errors identified at compile-time.
In AppSheet’s case, we try really hard to check everything upfront (at “compile-time”) because we do not want the app end-users having to decipher any errors, if they are avoidable. The downside is that we lose the flexibility of having loose column types and late-bound expressions.
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