TypeScript or JavaScript? You often seen developers contemplating between these two. JavaScript has been market leader for many years and has become a popular scripting language in the developers’ community. A superset of JavaScript, TypeScript offers all of the features of JavaScript with some added features.
|JavaScript|
JavaScript, often abbreviated as JS, is a scripting language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2023, 98.7% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior, often incorporating third-party libraries.
|TypeScript|
TypeScript is a strongly typed programming language that builds on JavaScript, giving you better tooling at any scale. It is designed for the development of large applications and transpiles to JavaScript. TypeScript adds syntax on top of JavaScript, allowing developers to add types.
TypeScript vs JavaScript: The Differences
TypeScript and JavaScript are two harmonizing technologies that are driving both front-end and back-end development. Let us now look at detailed comparison of TypeScript and JavaScript.
| TypeScript | JavaScript | |
| First release | 2012 | 1995 |
| Created by | Microsoft | Netscape(Brendan Eich) |
| Typing | Strongly Typed. TypeScript supports both static and dynamic typing. | Loosely typed. In JavaScript, only dynamic typing is supported, not static typing. |
| Compilation | Compiled into JavaScript. | Does not need a compilation. |
| Learning Curve | you should have a basic understanding and knowledge of JavaScript | Easy-to-learn scripting language |
| Annotation | requires the need for annotation to get the full advantage of TypeScript features. | Does not require annotation. |
| IDE support | Extensive validation and refactoring capabilities | Limited validation and refactoring capabilities |
| Error Detection | Errors are detected or highlighted in the early development stage in TypeScript. | Errors are detected only at the run time, since it is an interpreted language. |
| Execution | does not run directly on the browser. | Runs directly on the browser and supports cross-platform, cross browsers. |
| Suitable For | suited for complex applications and also any JS applications as well | Ideally used for web applications, mobile and desktop applications, and game development. |
| Users | Slack, Tech Stack Bitpanda, Medium | Netflix, Microsoft, PayPal, Google etc. |
Conclusion: TypeScript vs JavaScript
In the end, after all these head-to head comparison both are good in their own ways. Both have pros and cons. TypeScript and JavaScript complement each other perfectly. If you are know JavaScript, then it’s easy for you to understand TypeScript. They both languages share the same syntax and run-time behavior.