What's TypeScript

Here is the TypeScript’s definition from Microsoft:

TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript and is a language for application-scale JavaScript development.

TypeScript is a not new language, but a thin layer on top of existing JavaScript strengthening it with tooling, IDE services and refactoring. It enables easy embrace of JavaScript while building enterprise applications using todays technologies (see my blog on this). Thanks to Microsoft, now everyone can build scalable large JavaScript applications targeting all browsers and platforms.

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript which starts and end with JavaScript. All your existing JavaScript is TypeScript. Unlike other transcompilers, like CoffeeScript, TypeScript is a syntactic sugar built on top of JavaScript to support large applications and teams. By building on JavaScript, TypeScript can make your JavaScript development at very high level or close to the metal.

TypeScript is not a replacement for JavaScript and not for better performance or optimization. It only aids in writing, maintaining and verifying code. TypeScript estimates what happens during runtime and performs static checking while you are writing code thereby protecting you from unwanted side effects and dramatically increasing your productivity. It also incorporates design patterns and best practices. TypeScript also provide a mechanism for documentation and statement completion for most of your favorite JavaScript libraries.

The interesting thing about TypeScript is that the TypeScript’s compiler and tooling support is also written in TypeScript. With its local and non-intrusive code generation, TypeScript works wherever JavaScript works i.e., browsers, node, cloud, Windows 8 etc.

In this blog I outline the important features and tooling supported by TypeScript. In my next blog I delve into these in detail.

TypeScript Features:

The feature set of TypeScript is similar to that of any object oriented program such as C# or VB.NET. With these feature set Microsoft is trying for easy adoptability to JavaScript.

Type System
TypeScript as the name indicates provide an ability to define types in JavaScript. With the static types, TypeScript provides syntax highlighting helping you identify bugs before even running the code. These static types are supported for both variables and parameters. This type system is optional and is only used to aid writing code.

TypeScript supports all the primitive types such as number, string, boolean, null. It also support complex types such as DOM elements, custom types such as JQuery elements and a special type called Any

Class

Similar to other object oriented programs, TypeScript included Class syntax thereby making .NET and object oriented programming developers feel home and easily group related functions and variables within this container. Similar to classes in other programming languages, these classes helps in code abstraction, inheritance, reusability and maintainability.

TypeScript classes align with ECMA Script 6 proposal which supports classes in JavaScript.

Properties

TypeScript provides properties using get and set accessor declarations. These properties similar to that of the C# or VB.NET

Methods

The Method support is similar to that of JavaScript and other languages. TypeScript uses prototype to chain the method calling.

Interface

Interfaces helps to provide consistency across modules and teams. Interface also helps to provide documentations for custom or external JavaScript libraries.

Inheritance

Similar to OO, TypeScript provides Inheritance. The syntax is similar to that of Java with extends and super keywords

Modules

Modules are similar to the namespace concept in .NET. They wrap the classes in a naming container, help to organize the classes and modules and avoid naming collisions. They also provide a mechanism to exposes classes or have internal classes.

Accessibility

TypeScript provides accessibility options for classes and their members. The class members’ accessibility can be set by using public and private and the class accessibility can be restricted or allowed using the export keyword.

Open ended

Both the modules and classes are open ended, meaning you can define them in any place and they all belong to the same class or module. You can think of this like a partial class.

TypeScript Tooling:

In order to build enterprise scale JavaScript applications a robust tooling is needed. TypeScript provides such tooling in Visual Studio 2012 and Visual Studio 2013. TypeScript tooling is not limited to Visual Studio, but also support Eclipse, Web Storm, Sublime Text, emacs, and vim. But Visual Studio provides best developer experience.

Below are some of the tooling support in Visual Studio:

•          IntelliSense and statement completion – TypeScript parses your team’s code and provides intellisense and statement completion, so that you don’t have to remember all the syntax. It also provides intellisense and statement completion for custom and popular javascript libraries using declare files mentioned below.

•          Syntax highlighting – TypeScript helps you identify the coding issues while writing code by providing static error messages

•          Refactoring and code navigation – Similar to C# or VB.NET, TypeScript has the same great code tools, such as Rename, Go to Definition, Go to Declaration.

•          Automatic compilation – The TypeScript is compiled to JavaScript whenever it is saved or the Visual Studio project is compiled. Hence you don’t need to manually compile the typescript files.

•          Declaration files – TypeScript uses these files to annotate the types for existing libraries such as JQuery and provide better tooling

Microsoft is planning to add more tooling support such as split screen view, generated code grouping in their next releases.

Try Out TypeScript

Microsoft designed a playground to try out TypeScript and it’s capabilities before deciding to use it in your project. In that playground they also included some samples.

http://www.typescriptlang.org/Playground

With so many features and tools, TypeScript is must for application development and is too expensive in time for not having TypeScript in your armor.

Please go to my TypeScript blog series for other blogs in TypeScript.