TypeScript

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript. It is strongly typed and makes development much easier.

Strongly typed

Since TypeScript is strongly typed the job of writing it gets a lot easier. If you use a proper IDE (Visual Studio Code for example) it will show you type errors while developing.

Backward compatibility

In the end, TypeScript has to be transpiled/compiled to JavaScript. This could, for example, be done via the “tsc” command, which will transpile the TS file to the configured target ECMAScript version (ECMAScript is a standard to define JavaScript. You can read more about that here as well as about the browser support here). With the ability to target different/older versions of the standard the TS will get automatically transpiled into a JS file that is compatible with older browser versions. This means one can write readable code without thinking about compatibility. When transpiled it gets something that is compatible. Of course, it’s not always that easy. In the screenshot below you can see a part of our transpiled demo file.

Tests & Debugging

With TypeScript it is much easier to create tests that could be run automatically in a pipeline. Another big plus is that it is possible to debug the code with the help of source map files.

Community Content

• Free Course on TypeSCript by Scott Durow
• Let’s start TypeScript – Part 1 by Scott Durow
• D365 TypeScript Web Resources - Part 1 - Basics by Oliver Flint
• Setting up a TypeScript project for Dataverse by Benedikt Bergmann