A Comprehensive Guide to TypeScript: Introduction, Installation, and Running Code

admin July 19, 2023 Beginners, JavaScript, Programming, TypeScript 0

What is TypeScript?

TypeScript is an object-oriented programming language created and maintained by Microsoft Corporation. It is a free and open-source high-level programming language that adds static typing with optional type annotations to JavaScript. TypeScript is a strict superset of ECMAScript 2015, commonly referred to as JavaScript. Being a “Syntactic Superset,” TypeScript shares the same base syntax as JavaScript but adds additional features and capabilities. It is designed for the development of large applications and transpiles to JavaScript.

TypeScript vs. JavaScript

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript, adding optional static typing and class-based object-oriented programming. While JavaScript is a prototype-based language, TypeScript is known as an object-oriented programming language. TypeScript introduces static typing, which helps catch type errors during development. It supports interfaces, allowing developers to define the structure and contracts of objects. JavaScript, on the other hand, is dynamically-typed and does not provide built-in support for interfaces.

To install and configure TypeScript, follow these steps:

Step 1: Install Node.js

TypeScript requires Node.js, so make sure you have it installed on your system.
You can download and install the latest version of Node.js from the official website: https://nodejs.org

Step 2: Install TypeScript

Once you have Node.js installed, open your command prompt or terminal.
Run the following command to install TypeScript globally on your system:

npm install -g typescript

This command will download and install the latest version of TypeScript from the npm registry.

Step 3: Verify the Installation

After the installation is complete, you can verify it by running the following command:

tsc --version

This command will display the installed TypeScript version if the installation was successful.

Step 4: Configuration

Create a tsconfig.json file in the root directory of your TypeScript project.
This file contains the configuration settings for TypeScript.
You can generate a basic tsconfig.json file using the following command:

tsc --init

This command will create a tsconfig.json file with default settings.

Step 5: Customize Configuration (Optional)

Open the tsconfig.json file and modify the configuration options according to your project’s needs.
You can specify the target ECMAScript version, output directory, module system, and other settings in this file.

That’s it! TypeScript is now installed and configured on your system. You can start writing TypeScript code in .ts files and compile them into JavaScript using the TypeScript compiler (tsc).

Running TypeScript

To run TypeScript files, you need to compile them into JavaScript files first. This can be done using the tsc command. Here are the steps to run a TypeScript file:

Open a command prompt or terminal window.
Navigate to the directory where your TypeScript file is located.
Run the following command to compile the TypeScript file into a JavaScript file:

tsc filename.ts

This will create a JavaScript file with the same name as your TypeScript file.

Run the JavaScript file using Node.js by running the following command:

node filename.js

Following these steps, you can compile and run TypeScript files in a JavaScript runtime environment.

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