Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

TypeScript's Quiet, Steady Rise Among Programming Languages (wired.com)

Posted by msmash on from the moving-trends dept.

Microsoft's programming language TypeScript has become one of the most popular languages among developers, at least according to a report published by the analyst firm RedMonk this week. Wired: TypeScript jumped from number 16 to number 12, just behind Apple's programming language Swift in RedMonk's semiannual rankings, which were last published in August. Microsoft unveiled TypeScript in 2012, and while it hasn't grown as quickly as Swift -- which has grown faster than any other language, ever since RedMonk started compiling the rankings in 2011 -- TypeScript's own ascendance is impressive, given the sheer number of available programming languages.

More and more applications these days use TypeScript. Google's programming framework Angular, the second most popular tool of its type according to data released last year by the startup NPM, is written in TypeScript. So is Vue, an increasingly popular framework finding a home both among smaller companies and tech giants like Alibaba. But RedMonk doesn't look at how many jobs are available for people skilled in a particular language, nor how many companies actually use the language. Instead, the firm tries to spot trends in developer interest by looking at how many projects on GitHub use certain languages, and how many questions are asked about those languages on the programmer Q&A site Stack Overflow. The idea is to get a sense of where the software development profession is heading.

9 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Typescript has restored my job satisfaction by sobachatina · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I moved from C++ to javascript as part of a very advantageous job change.

    Unfortunately javascript shortly made me loathe coming to work.

    We ported all our code to TypeScript and I get to feel like a real programmer again.
    Strict typing is a beautiful thing. Refactoring and compile time bugs instead of runtime disasters.

    1. Re:Typescript has restored my job satisfaction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Amen.

      Right now I am programming in Python and, coming from a Java and C background... all I can say is that Python is the new Perl.
      You have to be a certain age to really get that comment.

      Types, do you UNDERSTAND them, motherfucker!

      Javascript is a disaster like all weakly typed languages, but Typescript is a miracle that may rescue web development. Absolutely beautiful work, brought to you by Anders Hejlsberg, the man who also created Turbo Pascal, Delphi, and Objective C. In other words, a man who has experience and proven results creating practical and elegant languages. Not made by some guy over a weekend.

    2. Re:Typescript has restored my job satisfaction by lgw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      var intX = 0
      var strY = ""

      Sure, and everyone can have their own syntax for this, and not have their IDE warn them when they forget. Or, you know, it can be part of the language, making it a standard for all, including the IDE, and removing the need for the Hungarian notation clutter everywhere.

      In terms of compile time bugs, vs run time disasters, there a numerous tools that will validate your code.

      Yes, and a popular one is Typescript.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:Typescript has restored my job satisfaction by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny

      there a numerous tools that will validate your code

      Stop calling our users tools.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  2. Re:Wait a minute... by sobachatina · · Score: 5, Informative

    Typescript is basically JavaScript syntax with some extra type information tacked on. It runs through a compiler that produces javascript.

    I'm a fan. If you do anything even moderately complex in JavaScript you should look at Typescript. It eases a lot of the pain of using JavaScript.

  3. TypeScript is still crap by djbckr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lately our team has moved to TypeScript from Java to write server-side services. Now, Java is not the best thing in the world admittedly, but it's head and shoulders better than JavaScript. I think typescript is just a hack to make javascript a bit more palatable than straight JS. I think of "lipstick on a pig", but really typescript is just a really bad makeup job on a dead rotten pig.

    1. Re:TypeScript is still crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The real failure here is a scripting language designed for web browsers being used for back end services. DON'T DO STUPID SHIT!

      If you want to use a scripting language on the back end, that's fine, but use a scripting language designed for back end work.

      TypeScript is imperfect, but leaps and bounds ahead of plain of JavaScript for front end work

  4. Re:Wait a minute... by Wrath0fb0b · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because it was easier to write a sane language and a transpiler than it is to fix the recursive dumpster fire that is JavaScript.

    That should really tell us something folks.

  5. Re: Wait a minute... by pchasco · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No. The typescript compiler generates map files for your .ts, so you debug typescript not JavaScript.