6 ms·

It looks like Microsoft's TypeScript is the new hotness (static types! just like Java and C++, but better), and it's only compatible with ES6, not Coffeescript.

by cbhl 9y ago

theprotocol 9y ago
Typescript is a fantastic language with an absolutely horrid, bug-ridden configuration, tooling and ecosystem integration side. I say this after working with TS on a project for over a year now. In particular, attempting to use it with npm modules is an exercise in tedium, as its module resolution constantly breaks and bizarre, undefined behavior does not stop happening. I've found dozens, maybe hundreds of similar reports online, with no solutions offered. There are all sorts of arbitrary gotchas with its configuration as pertains to this and other things. "Oh, don't use outDir and it'll work." While it has great and straightforward integration with VS Code, it has disastrous integration with Visual Studio 2015 and 2017, the latter of which does not even support updating the bundled TS version at will without registry hacks. While TS emits code even in the case of errors, in many situations, Visual Studio refuses to complete the build process in case of TypeScript errors. For an ES6+->ES5 transpiler, it is also very strange in that it polyfills some things but not others, such as Promises and Maps. TypeScript has ultimately brought an unacceptable overhead to my project. It does not get out of the way as soon as you attempt to use it with the rest of the ecosystem. There belies its arrogance: it treats JavaScript as a second class citizen and favors Typings (additional files that assign types to plain JavaScript libraries). But in most cases, Typings are outdated, or nonexistent. Only recently has support for plain JavaScript libraries gotten better, with the AllowJS and CheckJS flags, the latter of which Visual Studio 2017 does not recognize for whatever reason. In my view, it comes with so much baggage that it's probably not worth using. Some of the solutions proposed by the project maintainers amount to writing boilerplate just to support JavaScript functions. It's essentially C header files: you have to write module declarations for certain plain JavaScript libraries to work. There are different versions of this boilerplate that you could be asked to write: you may be told to write a typings file (i.e. declare every single function of the library you want to use in a separate file, and add it to the project, possibly using ///<reference> in certain specific scenarios). There are also ad-hoc declarations of modules and constants/globals that you may or may not need to write (there is no idiom here, and the language regards this as going off-road).
- tomelders 9y ago
  I completely agree with this. It's maddening to hear everyone wax lyrical about the benefits of typescript when I see non at all, after you balance the benefits of type safety against all the flaws inherent to typescript itself. You used the word "arrogance", and that's exactly what it is. The fact that it's a transpiler (and a poor one at that) makes no sense to me. It's reach exceeds it's grasp and it burdens developers with the task of fixing it's own failings. Before anyone says "you just don't like typed language", stop right there. I do like Typed languages. Typescript is just very very poor when compared to other modern typed languages. It's such a horrible development experience that I'm looking for a way out of web dev. It's clear the community has gone nuts for it. And the Java back enders who seem to have an unwarranted amount of influence in this world are forcing it onto front end developers simply because it looks like Java. And damn you Angular2 for making all of this worse. You're a clunky and bloated framework already, but not content with ramming your flawed methodology down our throats, you've gone and stuck Typescript in there too, seemingly just out of spite. I fear Typescript is here to stay. If that's the case, I'm moving to Swift and iOS, or changing career completely.
  - theprotocol 9y ago
    Fortunately, ES6 and 7 are very pleasant to work with. And say what you will about Facebook as a company, but their tech side tends to favor lean technologies over bloated ones, e.g. React over Angular (don't get me started on Angular!). I would pursue that path if I were you.
    - tomelders 9y ago
      I think the difference comes from the fact that Facebook makes things for the web. Their technologies are born out of necessity. Typescript feels like an academic exercise, created by someone who doesn't like Javascript (and there are good reasons to not like Javascript), and wants to reshape it to there tastes, but in the abstract, outside the context of real word usage. And Angular feels more like a land grab than a useful tool to me.

It looks like Microsoft's TypeScript is the new hotness (static types! just like Java and C++, but better), and it's only compatible with ES6, not Coffeescript.

by cbhl 9y ago

It looks like Microsoft's TypeScript is the new hotness (static types! just like Java and C++, but better), and it's only compatible with ES6, not Coffeescript.

theprotocol 9y ago

Typescript is a fantastic language with an absolutely horrid, bug-ridden configuration, tooling and ecosystem integration side. I say this after working with TS on a project for over a year now. In particular, attempting to use it with npm modules is an exercise in tedium, as its module resolution constantly breaks and bizarre, undefined behavior does not stop happening. I've found dozens, maybe hundreds of similar reports online, with no solutions offered. There are all sorts of arbitrary gotchas with its configuration as pertains to this and other things. "Oh, don't use outDir and it'll work." While it has great and straightforward integration with VS Code, it has disastrous integration with Visual Studio 2015 and 2017, the latter of which does not even support updating the bundled TS version at will without registry hacks. While TS emits code even in the case of errors, in many situations, Visual Studio refuses to complete the build process in case of TypeScript errors. For an ES6+->ES5 transpiler, it is also very strange in that it polyfills some things but not others, such as Promises and Maps. TypeScript has ultimately brought an unacceptable overhead to my project. It does not get out of the way as soon as you attempt to use it with the rest of the ecosystem. There belies its arrogance: it treats JavaScript as a second class citizen and favors Typings (additional files that assign types to plain JavaScript libraries). But in most cases, Typings are outdated, or nonexistent. Only recently has support for plain JavaScript libraries gotten better, with the AllowJS and CheckJS flags, the latter of which Visual Studio 2017 does not recognize for whatever reason. In my view, it comes with so much baggage that it's probably not worth using. Some of the solutions proposed by the project maintainers amount to writing boilerplate just to support JavaScript functions. It's essentially C header files: you have to write module declarations for certain plain JavaScript libraries to work. There are different versions of this boilerplate that you could be asked to write: you may be told to write a typings file (i.e. declare every single function of the library you want to use in a separate file, and add it to the project, possibly using ///<reference> in certain specific scenarios). There are also ad-hoc declarations of modules and constants/globals that you may or may not need to write (there is no idiom here, and the language regards this as going off-road).

tomelders 9y ago
I completely agree with this. It's maddening to hear everyone wax lyrical about the benefits of typescript when I see non at all, after you balance the benefits of type safety against all the flaws inherent to typescript itself. You used the word "arrogance", and that's exactly what it is. The fact that it's a transpiler (and a poor one at that) makes no sense to me. It's reach exceeds it's grasp and it burdens developers with the task of fixing it's own failings. Before anyone says "you just don't like typed language", stop right there. I do like Typed languages. Typescript is just very very poor when compared to other modern typed languages. It's such a horrible development experience that I'm looking for a way out of web dev. It's clear the community has gone nuts for it. And the Java back enders who seem to have an unwarranted amount of influence in this world are forcing it onto front end developers simply because it looks like Java. And damn you Angular2 for making all of this worse. You're a clunky and bloated framework already, but not content with ramming your flawed methodology down our throats, you've gone and stuck Typescript in there too, seemingly just out of spite. I fear Typescript is here to stay. If that's the case, I'm moving to Swift and iOS, or changing career completely.
- theprotocol 9y ago
  Fortunately, ES6 and 7 are very pleasant to work with. And say what you will about Facebook as a company, but their tech side tends to favor lean technologies over bloated ones, e.g. React over Angular (don't get me started on Angular!). I would pursue that path if I were you.
  - tomelders 9y ago
    I think the difference comes from the fact that Facebook makes things for the web. Their technologies are born out of necessity. Typescript feels like an academic exercise, created by someone who doesn't like Javascript (and there are good reasons to not like Javascript), and wants to reshape it to there tastes, but in the abstract, outside the context of real word usage. And Angular feels more like a land grab than a useful tool to me.