Ask HN: Is TypeScript worth it?

Update TS regularly to avoid making updates hard and lagging behind to much. Unlike a runtime framework, updates are unlikely to break things at runtime, so there are no reason not to update very often. If some external types are wrong or annoying, don't forget _any_ exists and simply brings you back to the crappy situation you'd have without TS (well admittedly it adds transpilation costs, but it's still type checking everything else, which is well worth it).

I think TS is nearly the best language that could be done given the constraints of being fully compatible with JS.

To your last point: Why not C#? It is interesting did not mention it, as TypeScript came from Microsoft R&D (as I understand).

This is one of the eternal complains about type safety, somehow mitigated by type inference. I believe it is totally worth it in the case of Typescript.

> i) Like a framework, you are at the whim of TS devs as it gets updated (edited)

As a language, it has proven quite stable. Even if development stopped tomorrow you could keep the current version forever.

> ii) Libraries are badly documented

It is inconvenient but, since they are js libraries, they are compatible. You do not need specific ts examples, although it is extra nice.

> iii) Error messages are hard to follow

Did not run into this issue myself but fair enough.

> iv) It requires yet more transpilation

tsc compiles ts into js. Depending on what you use, you could get rid of webpack etc. and just use tsc.

In summary, for me Typescript is totally worth it. All this lost time you mention is different from the lost time adapting to x framework or y packer update, since it reduces errors down the line. It might feel like it is slowing you down, but you can always use any for certain modules and type things at the interface. It is still your decision what to type, the language gives you the tools to do so.

Too much overhead for me. I really dislike typing obvious things and boilerplate. Probably my fluency with JS is to blame. I don't need to see types and autocompletion. If I really need to — I just go to the source and inspect the source code, that is how I familiarise myself with the interface. I also think this makes one a better developer.

Going with car analogies, the question is similar to "Is a bus better than a race car?" - there's no correct answer without more context. How many people use one or the other, how many people praise one or the other, that's no help either.

That said, regardless of whether it makes me happy or whether it's a solid technical decision, TypeScript appears to be used somewhat widely at this point. So learning to deal with the complexities and gotchas of it is IMHO worth it for anyone who's serious about web development. No need to become a zealot though, there's no need to find and defend some silver bullet. It just depends.