Posts tagged "TypeScript advantages"

Why TypeScript Is Growing More Popular

TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript, has recently gained popularity. It was first released in 2012 by Microsoft and has since grown to become one of the most popular programming languages.

In 2022, TypeScript emerged as the fastest-growing programming language. Over the past five years, its usage has grown exponentially, from 12% in 2017 to 34% in 2022. As a popular alternative to JavaScript, TypeScript has gained widespread acceptance, especially among large-scale JavaScript developers who value its scalability, collaborative capabilities, and code maintainability.

According to the 2022 StackOverflow Developer Survey, TypeScript is a highly coveted technology this year, trailing only Rust and Python in popularity.

In this article, we will explore the reasons behind TypeScript’s growing popularity.

  1. Type Safety

One of the main reasons behind TypeScript’s popularity is its strong type system. By providing static type checking, TypeScript helps developers catch errors early in the development process, which can save time and money. TypeScript’s type system also makes it easier to refactor code and maintain large codebases. With strong type checking, developers can catch errors before they happen and spend more time focusing on writing code.

  1. Better Tooling

TypeScript’s strong type system also allows for better tooling support. TypeScript integrates with a wide range of tools, including editors, build tools, and testing frameworks. This makes it easier for developers to work with TypeScript, as they have access to a range of powerful tools that can improve their productivity. Additionally, TypeScript’s type system makes it easier to write high-quality documentation and create better code examples.

  1. Large Community

TypeScript has a large and growing community, which provides a wealth of resources and support for developers. The community is active on social media, forums, and other online platforms, making it easy for developers to get help when needed. A wide range of libraries and frameworks have also been built with TypeScript, which can save developers time and effort when building complex applications.

  1. Cross-Platform Support

Another reason behind TypeScript’s growing popularity is its cross-platform support. TypeScript can be used to build applications for a wide range of platforms, including desktop, web, and mobile. This makes it a versatile language that can be used for a wide range of projects. Additionally, TypeScript integrates well with other technologies, such as Node.js and React, which makes it easy to build scalable applications.

  1. Improved Code Quality

Because TypeScript provides strong type checking and better tooling, it is easier to write high-quality code. TypeScript can help developers catch errors early in the development process, which can prevent bugs and other issues from arising. Additionally, TypeScript’s type system makes it easier to refactor code and maintain large codebases, which can save time and effort in the long run.

In conclusion

TypeScript’s growing popularity can be attributed to its strong type system, better tooling, large community, cross-platform support, and improved code quality. As more developers discover the benefits of TypeScript, we can expect to see continued growth and adoption of this powerful language in the years to come.

Why Use TypeScript for Developing Web Applications

JavaScript has been around for over two decades and is still used widely in the current tech industry. However, as technology evolves, it has begun to fall behind. Thus, programs such as TypeScript were created to provide a solution.

TypeScript is a statically typed programming language that builds on JavaScript. Where JavaScript’s dynamically-typed language wouldn’t allow for the classification of both variables and element types, TypeScript does implement this. Things like decorators, interfaces, types, and enums are tools that it adds, making it similar to an upgrade for JavaScript.

Benefits of TypeScript

  • It contains an auto-complete feature that decreases time typing out commands by suggesting the command it thinks a developer needs.
  • Static type checking with TypeScript runs in the background. Before the execution of a command, it scans the code for errors and alerts the developer if something needs to be changed.
  • Using TypeScript within a team of developers is made easier due to its simpler language, clear labeling of code, and increase consistent readability.
  • Unlike JavaScript, which requires much more code to be written and can lead to system vulnerabilities, TypeScript’s predictive tools decrease the total amount of code needed. This makes scalability much easier. TypeScript also alerts developers when any code becomes invalid due to changes with other sections of code.
  • Compatibility with other languages, software, and browser search engines is universal with TypeScript. Code is first written through JavaScript before being converted to an easily integrated code for each search engine. This is JavaScript’s biggest strength, which TypeScript capitalizes on.
  • It fills in JavaScript’s gaps when it comes to the lack of features and tools available within the multi-paradigm language of JavaScript.
  • It’s considered an intersection type, which is significantly more effective than Javascript’s mixin. Intersection types let developers connect to more than one interface to manage necessary methods and is faster compared to mixins.
  • While TypeScript produces JavaScript files that are slightly larger, the excess features of it that weren’t used will vanish once the code has been compiled. (Keep in mind that TypeScript is essentially an add-on to JavaScript.)

Disadvantages of Using TypeScript

It wouldn’t be fair to only look at the positives of TypeScript since every programming language has strengths and weaknesses. Thus, here are some disadvantages of using TypeScript:

  1. TypeScript primarily adds to the tools and features of JavaScript, however, it is dependent on third-party libraries such as JQuery. TypeScript incorporates JavaScript code, but JavaScript doesn’t implement TypeScript code. Its primary goal is to add to JavaScript and not take over its usage.
  2. It takes a little longer to learn how to use TypeScript due to its own tools and features. Developers, on the other hand, have argued that the time taken to learn this language is worth the results it presents.
  3. File sizes are larger with TypeScript compared to JavaScript. It can be anywhere from 20-30% bigger.

The Pros are Worth More Than the Cons

TypeScript has many more pros than it does cons. This makes it an ideal programming language to use. It is not the only recommended language by developers of course. There are so many more good languages out there. To decide whether TypeScript, JavaScript, or another language is the right fit, look objectively at the pros and cons of each, as well as what kind of project it is needed for.