TypeScript … Why ?

TypeScript (TS) as a programming language is too young to be taken seriously, looked into or to waste play time on it. However. What is most interesting is the proverbial “WHY?” question. Which is actually two questions.

  1. Why does TypeScript Exist ?
  2. Why are MSFT language heavies on the team ?

These are inspirational questions to which I have no answers. I can only perhaps speculate.

One

First of all what has happened to F# ? One very modern and well rounded functional language. No body is asking where is F# heading? I assume F# is simply not JavaScript and that is the key problem with it. MSFT has simply concluded that nobody would be willing to learn F# when JavaScript is inside each and every browser, html content, large scale HPC, node.js and so on and so forth. My answer is short: F# is good, modern and actually better than JavaScript. But it is not JavaScript.It is as simple as that.

And what has happened to C# we all know. It imploded under its own weight. Like a dark hole of OOP, it has tried to suck the whole universe into it. And it was just a tiny star rushed to the scene by MSFT sick worried (before the end of 20-th century) that JAVA will rule the world.

Two

Anders H, Erich Gamma, etc are on the TS team. Yes. You have read this right. Both of them. Yes. On the JavaScript little pre-processor project. Hm,hm,hm … Do they not have anything more important to do then to try and force OOP onto the JavaScript? Both of them probably understand very well OOP languages vs functional languages, issues. And both of them know where and why and how to properly deploy which computer language paradigm. So obviously it was not their choice. Their employer has asked them to do it. And this is a offer which even they could not refuse.

Some kind of conclusion

MSFT understood the HTML+JavaScript juggernaut. And MSFT joined HTML+JavaScript universe. That was the good and historical decision. Kudos to them. But. Now is the implementation era. I think personally MSFT right now has much more projects to be coded and delivered in JavaScript than JavaScript programmers. It also has a lot internal and worldwide C#/VB.NET lemmings complaining about this crazy little thing which has no classes, interfaces or no assemblies, modules and a such. This is a lot of MSFT customers sick worried about JavaScript which has caught up with them at last. It simply can not be ignored any more. Quick and merciless demise of XML could be swallowed. Somehow. But coding with no classes ?! Something had to be done. And fast.

Hence (my guess) TypeScript. A safe heaven for suffering .NET/SilverLight/OOP under-developed developers, being forced onto fast and deep currents of the ocean of functional programming, functional thinking, architecting and designing.

TypeScript is daddy MSFT taking care of his OOP children.

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