Comment by embedding-shape
1 month ago
Ah yeah, kind of like how I get a drink for free if I get the hamburger menu, even if it costs more? Kind of weird perspective, but I can accept that it's something zealots tell themselves so "we're doing it differently" actually computes for them.
> it's something zealots tell themselves
Don't be like this. Don't spit bile at people because they have different needs and preferences to you.
As I understand it, the TS compiler can translate newer JS features/syntax into backwards-compatible polyfills for you, automatically. I don't really use TS myself, but I'm not going to pretend like that isn't a useful feature.
I have used JS before TS entered the scene, and being able to transpile features/syntax like that is not a TS innovation, nor only available in TS. That's why flagging that as something "you get for free, since you added a compiler anyways" feels dishonest. Ultimately it's true, but if that's what you're out after, then adding TS to your project is going way above and beyond just "transpiling new syntax to old syntax".
> is not a TS innovation, nor only available in TS
> since I avoid TS, I cannot use ES6 and ES7, and my vanilla JavaScript doesn't run in all browsers
Where was that claim made? I don't see it in any Typescript docs, or in the book.
You seem to be saying that the TS docs say that these features are unique. They obviously aren't, the documentation is clearly not saying they are, and no reasonable person would say they were.
Transpiling to another platform is a multiplying benefit when combined with other benefits though.
For example: Clojure and Kotlin both target the JVM. The language design of each brings certain benefits. These benefits are clearly more useful if they have a wide deployment base in the form of the JVM.
2 replies →
> I have used JS before TS entered the scene, and being able to transpile features/syntax like that is not a TS innovation, nor only available in TS.
I used JS back in the 1990s. Transpiling to JS is a relatively new phenomenon.
No one said transpiling is a TS innovation, nor that it is unique to TS.
> That's why flagging that as something "you get for free, since you added a compiler anyways" feels dishonest. Ultimately it's true, but if that's what you're out after, then adding TS to your project is going way above and beyond just "transpiling new syntax to old syntax".
That's silly. Transpiling is something TS can do, so it's not dishonest to advertise it as something TS can do. If you think TS is too hefty, don't use it. But don't be toxic towards those that do.
You're moving the goalposts to try and defend a bad take. That's how you get brownie points on the Internet for extreme takes, but also how you prevent yourself from learning and growing in the long run. Learn to take an L. You'll be better for it.