TypeScript is a language, and traditionally languages are considered separate from their implementations. When I first saw the headline I hoped maybe it meant a non-JS runtime for compiled TS, and I’m well aware of the difference. Yes, that would be a much larger undertaking than porting the compiler to a new language, but the headline doesn’t indicate how large a project this is, and Microsoft certainly has the resources to write a new backend (even a native-code one) for the TS compiler.
I… Don’t know about that. I mean, you could implement a browser or even a runtime library that used typescript (or a subset thereof) to directly write LLVM; it would take a lot of work, but typescript doesn’t have to just be for transpiling.
But there is no such implementation AFAIK? How is it making Typescript faster if it’s a completely new implementation?
Well a new implementation running TypeScript could be 10x faster than the traditional e.g., NodeJS implementation or something; it’s not unusual for things to be compared in such a way.
But certainly, in theory it could become unshackled from JavaScript. Have there been any serious attempts to do so though?
I feel this should be obvious to anyone who knows anything about programming, because typescript is just a development tool not a runtime.
TypeScript is a language, and traditionally languages are considered separate from their implementations. When I first saw the headline I hoped maybe it meant a non-JS runtime for compiled TS, and I’m well aware of the difference. Yes, that would be a much larger undertaking than porting the compiler to a new language, but the headline doesn’t indicate how large a project this is, and Microsoft certainly has the resources to write a new backend (even a native-code one) for the TS compiler.
I… Don’t know about that. I mean, you could implement a browser or even a runtime library that used typescript (or a subset thereof) to directly write LLVM; it would take a lot of work, but typescript doesn’t have to just be for transpiling.
That would be very difficult because Typescript isn’t sound.
But there is no such implementation AFAIK? How is it making Typescript faster if it’s a completely new implementation?
But certainly, in theory it could become unshackled from JavaScript. Have there been any serious attempts to do so though?
Well a new implementation running TypeScript could be 10x faster than the traditional e.g., NodeJS implementation or something; it’s not unusual for things to be compared in such a way.
No idea! :)
There is a serious attempt for that actually: https://www.assemblyscript.org/
It doesn’t offer full compatibility with the regular TypeScript though, despite being very similar.
Nice! Thanks for sharing