Microsoft takes the wraps off TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript
Summary: Microsoft is launching a preview of a new programming language known as TypeScript, which aims to make JavaScript development scale beyond the client.
As of today, we now know more about the formerly secret Microsoft JavaScript effort upon which Technical Fellow and father of C# Anders Hejlsberg has been working.
On October 1, Microsoft took the wraps off TypeScript, a new programming language that is aimed at making JavaScript development scale beyond the client.
Microsoft has made available to those interested via its CodePlex site a preview of the TypeScript bits; the TypeScript language specification; and the source code for the TypeScript compiler. TypeScript is available under an Apache 2.0 open-source license. In addition to the new TypeScript language and compiler, Microsoft also plans to make available a TypeScript for Visual Studio 2012 plug-in, providing JavaScript developers with Visual Studio features like code navigation, refactoring, static error messages and IntelliSense.
A Microsoft Channel 9 video of Hejlsberg discussing TypeScript is available on Microsoft's Web site:
Soma Somasegar, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft' Developer Division, outlined the problem space that Microsoft believes it can solve with TypeScript in an October 1 blog post:
"With HTML5, the standards web platform has become significantly more compelling for delivering rich user experiences. At the same time, the reach of JavaScript has continued to expand, going beyond the browser to include native device apps (e.g. Windows Store apps for Windows 8), applications in the cloud (e.g., node.js running on Windows Azure), and more. With these developments, we’re starting to see applications of unprecedented size written with JavaScript, despite the fact that creating large-scale JavaScript applications is hard. TypeScript makes it easier."
Microsoft is building the TypeScript "superset" of JavaScript to provide the "syntactic sugar" needed to build large applications and support large teams, Somasegar blogged. TypeScript will provide better JavaScript tooling to users writing client-side apps or server/cloud-side ones, Somasegar said. The kinds of tools that typically have been available only for statically-typed languages will be available for JavaScript via TypeScript, he said.
I got a couple of tips about Hejlsberg & Co.'s JavaScript effort leading up to today's announcement. One of them posited that that Microsoft's new JavaScript project (which this person said was codenamed "Strada" internally -- a name upon which Microsoft officials wouldn't comment) -- was yet another example of Microsoft's good old "embrace and extend" philosophy. (Update: Looks like the codename for TypeScript was, indeed, Strada. Thanks, Felix9!)
Hejlsberg and the others working on TypeScript disagreed with that characterization. Microsoft is building TypeScript so that JavaScript code already developed can easily be brought into the TypeScript world because, as Somasegar claimed on his blog, "all JavaScript code is already TypeScript code."
Microsoft's official site for TypeScript is http://www.typescriptlang.org/.
What are your initial thoughts on what the Softies are doing, any of you developer-readers out there?
Update: In spite of the Somasegar quote above regarding the Windows Store -- if you still were unsure whether you can build Windows Store apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT using TypeScript, the answer is yes.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
Oh no, not again...
JavaScript might work in a TypeScript environment, but TypeScript will not work in a JavaScript environment. It's embrace and extend all over again. Just when I thought Microsoft had finally turned a corner and would be focusing on only open standards, they pull this out.
One can only hope that developers have learned their lesson by now and will ignore the new TypeScript silo.
Wrong...
You are wrong, think of this as CoffeeScript, it compiles to native Javascript code. So it is completely compliant with all existing standards.
+1
I like Google Dart better
It's ok if Google doesn't follow open standards?
RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Java Script is a nightmare!!!
End your JS nightmare. This is quite a useful tool for coders.
sadly right
extend = new ways to write the same code
extinguish = to change code without forking in a way which cannot be amended automatically, you have to use the typescript interface
Result: You can only contribute to the code via the typescript interface.
Embrace and extend only works with closed source
"TypeScript is available under an Apache 2.0 open-source license."
No you must be thinking of googles DART. The now dead google
TypeScript and JavaScript
This is Jonathan from the TypeScript team.
The intent of TypeScript is to improve the experience of writing application-scale JavaScript. The emphasis really is on JavaScript from beginning to end. Because TypeScript compiles to efficient JavaScript, there's little that hinders you from interoperating with pure JavaScript.
If you're interested, check out the codeplex site for the source:
http://typescript.codeplex.com/
A good place for some more info:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/port25/archive/2012/10/01/typescript-an-open-and-interoperable-language.aspx
Thanks,
Jonathan
Thanks, Jonathan!
It would have been terrible to see all the work Microsoft is doing for promoting HTML5 compliance get tossed out.
"non–standards JavaScript"?
Hello Mr Pedantic
It's an example of a particular brand name being used as a generic term, like hoover for vacuum cleaners in the UK or Kleenex for tissues in the US.
Thanks Jonathan
Will there be a VS 2010 plugin?
Gonna start building some cutting edge W7
VS2010 Extension
to Jonathan
why the concern?
this is different than coffescript which doesn't use javascript syntax at all.