JavaScript has been with us for ages and it still is one of the most popular programming languages for web development.
But since it’s quite old, it’s full of limitations, as its creators had no idea how apps would be written in 2024 and beyond… Is it time for JS to pass the torch to TypeScript?
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Similar but different
First of all, we need to establish one thing – TypeScript is not just an evolution of JavaScript. It’s at the same time very similar and very different. While JavaScript code can always be considered TypeScript code, it only works one way. But why?
TS was created when software developers noticed that JS is just not enough for the needs of modern, scalable and multi-platform applications. They needed something more flexible and oriented at more complex apps.
Something that would allow creating larger pieces of code without the risk of getting lost in it. This is when the differences between JS and TS start – and these differences are the exact reasons that make development teams choose TS over JS in 2024.
The definition of TS is super-simple. It’s a superset of JS that adds several new features. And they make a huge difference.
Types
The first reason that TS is superior are types (also known as static typing). Types are just a simple way to tell the program whether it is correct or not, before it is executed. In TS, a coder can define what a given variable should be: whether it should be limited to numbers, letters or else.
This way, when a user enters a wrong set of characters in a box for “age”, the program will not compile, as it will know that the user’s age can only be a number between 1 and, let’s say, 999.
With static type code, developers are free to create their own composite types. This enables engineers to express their intentions in more detail and make sure the application works within given contexts.
Scripting vs programming language
There are many versatile, object-oriented programming languages, but JS is not one of them. Without delving into technical details, the most important limitation of scripting languages, such as JS, is that desktop and mobile applications cannot be developed by them alone.
The reasons for that are many and the most important one is that JS is often not even considered a real “programming language”, as its code is not compiled, but interpreted. Thus, it needs to be embedded to and run by another programme, which limits its applications.
TS code, on the other hand, needs to be compiled to JS before running. Even though it seems like a redundant step, it actually makes it much more useful, as it allows for writing large chunks of code that run in many different environments in the exact same way.
Cross-platform power
The above mentioned difference leads us to what TS excels at and what is a must nowadays. There are at least 5 leading operating systems on the market with an indefinite number of versions and an indefinite number of devices they run on. TS just doesn’t care about this problem.
When paired with React Native, it allows for writing code that can be executed on Linux, Windows, iOS or Android without major adjustments, while in the case of JS, the code needs to be specific for each platform.
Imagine you need to create an app for iPhones and the rest of the world. Now take the number of platforms you target and multiply the estimated development time and cost by this number – welcome to the world of JS! On the other hand, with correct use of TS, you can save tons of money.
Modularity
JavaScript was just not meant to create large apps. It was supposed to stay a simple scripting language. But as time has progressed, the scale of what it is used to has changed drastically.
With complex systems being written in JS, the code can easily get chaotic, resulting in so-called script tag hell, when coders need to manually resolve dependencies by tagging parts of the program.
TypeScript, however, offers features that make organising code much simpler. One of them is the ability to define classes and modules that programmers are free to export and reuse with no hassle at all.
Reusing old ideas
Because TypeScript is backward compatible with JavaScript code, there is nothing against reusing old parts of code. And it doesn’t really matter what parts.
In fact, coders are free to access any part of code or JS library that has ever been created. TypeScript works just so much faster, thanks to this. Can you imagine a better way of recycling in IT?
The ease of entering the new era
At the beginning, we established that TypeScript is based on JavaScript, which means that switching to the new language can be pretty straightforward for experienced JS developers.
Obviously, there are differences, but we should rather consider them possibilities, as they are just new options that newcomers need to get familiar with.
Though the learning curve is higher for the beginners and it’s more expensive to hire TypeScript engineers, the overall benefits of the technology make the whole process of creating and launching a new product easier and more cost-effective.
Jump on the bandwagon before you lose the race
The race to create applications better than the competition and cutting the costs never stops. And just as with any industry, whoever adapts newer and better ways of doing things wins.
Pure JavaScript is just not enough and even though it is still commonly used in large projects – it’s always assisted by other technologies and often is still used there, because it’s hard to migrate to TypeScript (although, it’s quite often doable).
But, when starting a new project, there is just a very low number of reasons for JavaScript. What comes to mind, seems to only be limitations caused by other technologies that are not compatible with TypeScript yet. But as time passes, GitHub keeps proving that it’s TypeScript that is going to win this race.
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