TypeScript: Microsoft's Replacement For JavaScript

mikejuk writes "Everyone seems to have a replacement for JavaScript — Google even has two. Now Microsoft has revealed that Anders Hejlsberg, the father of C# among other languages, has been working on a replacement and it has released a preview of TypeScript. The good news is that it is compatible with JavaScript — you can simply load JavaScript code and run it. JavaScript programs are TypeScript programs. To improve on JavaScript, TypeScript lets you include annotations that allow the compiler to understand what objects and functions support. The annotations are removed by the compiler, making it a zero overhead facility. It also adds a full class construct to make it more like traditional object oriented languages. Not every JavaScript programmer will be pleased about the shift in emphasis, but the way it compiles to a JavaScript constructor is fairly transparent. At this early stage it is difficult to see the development as good. It isn't particularly good for JavaScript developers who already have alternatives, and it isn't good for C# developers who now have confirmation that Ander Hejlsberg is looking elsewhere for his future." Update: 10/01 20:34 GMT by U L : It's also freely available under under the Apache 2.0 license, and there's a language specification available. It looks pretty interesting: it even has ML-style type inference (including e.g. deducing the types of higher order functions).

Comments

Full classes?

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't JavaScript have a better system altogether? Prototypical inheritance?
Classes feel awful in comparison.

And doesn't the next revision have support for classes? I keep forgetting the name of it, H s... oh Harmony?
I'm sure Harmony has a lot of things planned to extend the language massively to bring it up to standards even comparable to other languages.

Regardless, any and every attempt to expand on things is always good.
Yes, even if it is Microsoft. They gave you the website you are using now, remember. (unless you are in the 80s using some text browser)
Competition will hopefully lead to quicker implementations of a much better language overall.

Re:Remember the old addage

[gweihir]

Indeed. Pull people in, but let nobody out. Drink this poison at your own peril.