JavaScript vs TypeScript: Why Walmart, Slack, and Microsoft Opted for TypeScript Over JavaScript?

What is JavaScript and where is it used for?

In simple terms, JavaScript is a programming language which is widely used to build interactive web pages, web apps and even mobile apps. Initially, it was just limited to client-side programming (frontend) but soon it evolved and extended its reach to server-side programming too.

The perfect fusion of HTML, CSS and JavaScript results in very engaging and interactive web pages. Here, HTML and CSS give structure and style to web pages and JavaScript gives interactive elements to the web pages. Because of its ease of use, almost 97% of all websites are built using JavaScript.

And just a fun fact,

What is TypeScript and where is it used for?

In one sentence: TypeScript = JavaScript + Extra Features

TypeScript is a fairly new programming language, launched by Microsoft in 2012. It builds on top of JavaScript. Thus, it is called a superset of JavaScript. Like JavaScript, it is also both server and client-side programming language and can be used to build websites, web apps and mobile apps.

In addition to this, since TypeScript is the superset of JavaScript, every JavaScript program is a TypeScript program. In other words, if you save your JavaScript program with an extension of TypeScript (.ts), it will run perfectly fine.

But that does not mean that both TypeScript and JavaScript are the same. There are some massive and game-changing differences that save development time and reduce error possibilities.

The following is a quick comparison.

What is the role of TypeScript when JavaScript is already here?

As discussed earlier, JavaScript was ideally built and launched with the purpose of client-side programming of only websites. But it evolved so greatly that it could handle both client and server-side programming of websites, web apps and mobile apps.

While delivering these extra capabilities and features, JavaScript became very complex and started costing development time and cost while not ensuring ease of use to developers. In addition to this, the complexity of development projects was also accelerated and JavaScript miserably failed to handle complex and big programs with several thousand lines of code.

As if this is not enough, JavaScript is an untyped language and thus there are no types by default. With no standards to define types, the possibilities of errors in syntax, code logic, and passing the parameters are very high. What makes this worse is that errors can only be caught in runtime.

(In case you are wondering, types are nothing but the characteristic or property of the value you give such as whether the given value is a number or null or symptom. Top types include string , number , undefined, null, boolean, and symbol.)

TypeScript bridges this gap between JavaScript and modern-world development needs. It is equipped with more features and a robust type system and makes it very easy for developers to build advanced web and mobile apps without getting stuck with bugs.

So, let’s now discuss the top features of TypeScript over JavaScript.

Top TypeScript features that make it a more preferable choice over JavaScript

What makes TypeScript superior to JavaScript is its features. The following are a few of them.

• Strongly typed:

Unlike JavaScript, TypeScript is a strongly typed language. Meaning, there are predefined standards to define the characteristic or property of variables and other data structures from top types (string, number, undefined, null, boolean, and symbol). Since there are set standards for type declaration, developers can reduce 90% of all bugs and errors by simply executing code according to those standards.

• TypeScript supports JS libraries:

All JavaScript libraries can be used in the TypeScript project which makes developers productive in coding.

• Portability:

TypeScript does not require any dedicated VM or runtime environment to execute as it can run on any environment that JavaScript can run on.

• Static typing:

With its static typing nature, it makes it very easy to detect programming errors in the compiling phase itself, without running the code. In simpler words, it facilitates early error detection unlike JavaScript as JavaScript only supports dynamic typing. Other benefits of static typing are that it reduces the bugs and the time spent on debugging.

• IntelliSense:

Using IntelliSense, TypeScript adds coding hints as code is added. It further helps developers in code editing with features like code completion, parameter info, quick info, and member lists. These features aid developers in coding by reducing their efforts which leads to quicker delivery with fewer errors.

• Cross-platform capability:

With its cross-platform capability, developers can build cross-platform applications using HTML, CSS and TypeScript which run on multiple OS and devices. This saves a lot of development time and effort and so does the development cost.

• Faster compilation:

A TypeScript code is smaller in size than JavaScript code. Thus, the compiler takes less time to compile the TypeScript code than JavaScript code. (When there is a code of thousand lines, the saved time due to the faster compilation is very significant.)

Which are the top companies that have opted in for TypeScript?

As per the report by StackShare, there are reportedly 4381 companies that are using TypeScript in their tech stack.

The following are some of the top companies using TypeScript.

• Walmart
• Microsoft
• Slack
• Kavak
• Medium
• DoorDash
• Asana
• Canva
• BlaBlaCar

What are the top reasons big companies are preferring TypeScript over JavaScript?

These companies are in existence because of their products. They always aim for maximum stabilized products which meet the standards of the modern world. So, to build such products, they choose tech stack very wisely.

The following are the top reasons why big companies are choosing TypeScript and why we also use TypeScript for building healthcare digital solutions.

• It makes development faster: 

With IntelliSense, TypeScript supports developers to write accurate code. It shows suggestions and even autocompletes what developers are putting in. Such a feature makes coding faster and saves time and cost.

• It detects errors early: 

As discussed, developers don’t have to run the code to know whether there are errors or not. Because TypeScript shows an error in the run time itself. This again saves crucial time and cost.

• It reduces the errors: 

In JavaScript, the most common errors are related to types as there are no predefined types. But in TypeScript, there are predefined types which do not let developers write anything beyond what TypeScript has standardized. This standardization leads to fewer errors.

• It handles complex programs:

Unlike JavaScript, TypeScript easily handles complex and modern-world web and mobile development needs with its extra features that make compilation faster and show errors in compile time – even if there are thousands of lines of code.

Ultimately, top companies are using TypeScript to save development time and cost while making sure of fewer errors and ease of use for developers.

What’s our opinion on TypeScript vs JavaScript?

Being a modern-age IT company, we understand the gravity of choosing the right tech stack. A bad tech stack leads to disaster – if not now then later. But disaster is sure.

JavaScript is undoubtedly the best programming language. We have grown up working with JavaScript every day. But as they say, the world itself is not complete. JavaScript has multiple limitations that no longer make it the best programming language.

Fortunately, TypeScript is already here to fill the gap created by JavaScript and we should be thankful for it. It simply addresses what JavaScript fails to. Thus, there is nothing more simplified in the world of IT than it!