It's time for TypeScript to die

TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript, has gained significant popularity among developers over the years. It provides static typing, enhanced tooling, and improved developer experience. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether TypeScript’s existence is necessary or if its standards should be included in the JavaScript language itself.

JavaScript has come a long way since its inception. It has evolved rapidly, with new features and improvements being added regularly. The whole language was created in just ten days back in the nineties so the growth and complexity that have evolved is stunning.

Modern JavaScript now includes features like arrow functions, classes, modules, and more, making it a powerful and expressive language. The JavaScript community has in later years shown a commitment to enhancing the language, and this evolution should continue to address the needs of developers.

TypeScript, although widely adopted, has created a split in the JavaScript ecosystem. Projects using TypeScript have their own set of configurations, build processes, and tooling requirements. This fragmentation can lead to confusion, compatibility issues, and additional overhead for developers who need to switch between JavaScript and TypeScript projects. By incorporating TypeScript’s standards into JavaScript itself, we can unify the ecosystem and provide a standardized set of features and tooling for all JavaScript developers.

One of the arguments against TypeScript is that it introduces a learning curve for developers new to the language. Learning TypeScript involves understanding additional syntax, type annotations, and concepts such as type inference and type declarations. By including TypeScript’s features in JavaScript, developers can avoid this learning curve and work with a single language that is both familiar and powerful.

TypeScript provides valuable features like static typing, code navigation, and intelligent autocompletion. These features can significantly enhance the developer experience, catch errors at compile-time, and improve code quality. By incorporating TypeScript’s standards into JavaScript, we can bring these benefits to all JavaScript developers without the need for additional tooling or transpilation steps.

While TypeScript has excellent tooling support, integrating it with existing JavaScript tools and libraries can sometimes be challenging. The need for transpiling TypeScript code to JavaScript introduces additional complexity and can impact build times. By including TypeScript’s features in JavaScript, which is built directly into the browser, we can eliminate the need for transpilation, simplify tooling integration, and improve overall developer productivity.

JavaScript has solidified its position as the language of the web and continues to evolve rapidly. JavaScript standards committees, such as ECMA International, are responsible for defining the language’s future. These committees have the power to incorporate TypeScript’s features, a few of them or all, into the JavaScript language itself, ensuring that the improvements and innovations provided by TypeScript become part of the official JavaScript specification.

JavaScript has always been a dynamically typed language, and its flexibility is one of its defining features. Some argue that adding static typing through TypeScript goes against the philosophy of JavaScript and its ability to adapt and evolve quickly. By integrating TypeScript’s standards into JavaScript, we can preserve JavaScript’s dynamic nature while providing optional static typing for those who prefer it.

TypeScript has undoubtedly made significant contributions to the JavaScript ecosystem. It has provided a valuable set of features, enhanced developer experience, and improved code quality. However, as JavaScript continues to evolve, it’s time to reconsider whether TypeScript’s existence is necessary or if its standards should be included in the JavaScript language itself.

By incorporating TypeScript’s features into JavaScript, we can unify the ecosystem, reduce the learning curve, enhance developer experience, improve tooling integration, and embrace the philosophy of JavaScript. This integration will create a more streamlined and powerful language for all JavaScript developers, eliminating the need for an additional layer of complexity introduced by TypeScript.

As the JavaScript language evolves, it’s crucial to have discussions and debates about the future direction and the inclusion of new features. The goal should be to create a language that meets the needs of developers, encourages innovation, and maintains backward compatibility. By considering the integration of TypeScript’s standards into JavaScript, we can move towards a more unified and cohesive JavaScript ecosystem, benefiting developers and the entire community as a whole.