We often receive questions about the difference between JavaScript and TypeScript, and if it’s still a good idea to learn JavaScript now that TypeScript is in high demand.
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a scripting language with roots in the ’90s. It’s widely used to create interactive web pages. For instance, when a chatbox pops up after 30 seconds on the website, or you click away a cookie notification, or a menu rolls out upon clicking – these are all examples of JavaScript in action. Your browser understands JavaScript. JavaScript is also used to make requests to the server (backend) of the application. Nowadays, JavaScript is not only used in the browser but also on the server with Node.js. JavaScript’s popularity has surged in recent years, partly because of the significant role websites play, but also due to JavaScript’s capabilities on the server.
What is TypeScript?
TypeScript is like JavaScript++, it’s a superset of JavaScript and not a standalone language. It’s relatively newer, released in 2012, and only widely used since 2015. All TypeScript can be converted to JavaScript; it’s a neat syntax for writing clear and compact JavaScript code. You can think of it as a smart layer on top of JavaScript that provides access to some things that JavaScript doesn’t easily allow. With TypeScript, you can still use JavaScript libraries.
JavaScript vs TypeScript for non-developers
With TypeScript, you can easily program a few things that are desirable for an advanced programmer to do. In large environments, TypeScript generally results in more maintainable code because TypeScript has fewer freedoms to be sloppy than JavaScript. Under the hood, TypeScript is converted to JavaScript. By learning TypeScript, you also learn a thing or two about JavaScript, and if you already know JavaScript, learning TypeScript is easier. You often see that smaller projects are made with JavaScript, and TypeScript is used for larger ones. Angular now also uses TypeScript, which significantly contributed to the popularity of TypeScript (and the success of Angular).
JavaScript vs TypeScript for developers (don’t worry if you don’t understand this part)
As mentioned above, TypeScript is stricter than JavaScript, resulting in more maintainable code and making it easier to structure code. Also, TypeScript is focused on OOP. That’s why it’s more common for large projects than JavaScript. TypeScript supports prototyping, typing, and interfaces – things that JavaScript lacks. Additionally, TypeScript needs to be compiled before the browser can use it, which naturally takes time (disadvantage). It’s translated to JavaScript during compilation. As mentioned, it’s not a language of its own– if you change the extension of a .js file to .ts, it becomes a valid TypeScript file. With TypeScript, you can also use JavaScript libraries.
In conclusion
JavaScript is an extremely popular scripting language, and TypeScript is a language built on top of it with some extra functionalities. For large projects, TypeScript usually is preferred because it produces a more structured code. For small projects, JavaScript still wins. The languages are very similar, and if you know one, switching to the other is relatively simple.
