JavaScript logo

The esteemed Dr. Axel Rauschmayer has written a blog post about a new proposal for JavaScript: Types as Comments. It definitely has got me thinking.

On the one hand, I’m a huge fan of JavaScript evolution over the last decade or so. Arrow functions, const/var, classes, modules – that’s all good stuff that has improved the language.

Typescript logo

Seemingly on the same side of this argument: I’m also a huge fan of Typescript. It changed how I do large-scale frontend development four or so years ago – static typing in a language helps me write clear code, catches a huge number of bugs at compile-time, and the tooling and overall ecosystem around it is top-notch. Kudos to Microsoft on this one.

But I’m not convinced the value of this proposal nets out positive. The proposal itself says that the primary motivation is to inch JavaScript evolution towards eventually supporting static types:

Does JavaScript need static type-checking?

“Given how much effort organizations and teams have put into building type-checkers and adopting them, the answer is yes.”

Why?

Tools

You have to accept that JavaScript is the language of the runtime. We shouldn’t be caring about types at runtime – that’s the job of the toolchain prior to deploying. That’s the way every other language works (feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments – I am no language expert!).

Static typing only helps developers, not users.

Think about it this way: what level of performance degradation are you willing to accept for full support of static types? Is it ok for the JavaScript parser and runtime to be 5% slower for every web page or 15% larger in code size? Of course I’m pulling these numbers out of my ass.

When I was first fanboying out on TS, I used to think “gee, wouldn’t it be really cool for browsers to support Typescript natively”. Wouldn’t that be an awesome way to learn and view source, etc. But you know what’s good for that instead? Super-fast and small JavaScript for best performance and if you want to share your developer brilliance, have an optional compile-mode and source maps that point to your awesome Typescript.

Patrick the Star

Another thing I don’t like about the proposal is that, while they are clearly heavily influenced by Typescript, they hedge:

How does this proposal relate to TypeScript?

“This proposal is a balancing act: trying to be as TypeScript compatible as possible while still allowing other type systems”

You are JavaScript – if you are adamant about eventually supporting static types, why not boldly point towards a “north star” of a language that has already proven itself? Is it that you don’t want to admit Typescript won? Is it lingering anti-Microsoft bias?

My opinion: If we are going to add static typing for web apps, we should just use Typescript as a new script type. <script type=”application/x-typescript”> seems a better option to me so that the browser can choose an appropriate parser, etc.

§1296 · March 10, 2022 · JavaScript, Software, Technology, Uncategorized, Web · 1 comment ·


Well, two posts in a year – that’s better than only one! Let’s see, what did I accomplish this year, hack-wise?

  • bitjs, Binary Tools for JavaScript:
    • Added a Zipper to create a zip file in JS from byte arrays (issue #29). No compression, store-only for now.
  • kthoom, a Comic Book Reader:
    • Added a Metadata Viewer (issue #18) and Editor (issue #49) using the aforementioned Zipper.
  • TNO, a turn-based strategy game:
    • Finished rewriting an old, DOS-based game as a web-based game for its 25th anniversary 🙂
  • Carve, a vector graphics editor:
    • Started creating a rudimentary SVG editor in the open. Maybe this was irresponsible of me, given SVG-edit exists and I have lots of history there, but I wanted fresh infrastructure (TypeScript, mainly) and a chance to try and get the architecture right in the beginning..
  • Music playlist service and player
    • Private project where I assembled all my offline music, created a microservice to arrange, list, edit music into playlists stored in the Cloud (Firestore), and accessed via a web music player.

All of these little hack projects are strictly in the service of scratching various itches I have. Any fun projects you worked on this year?

Happy New Year, all!

§1292 · January 1, 2022 · Uncategorized · (No comments) ·


Logo for the kthoom comic book reader

Decided to pluck at one of my open source projects on the weekend. The latest idea was to use the Google Drive API to let users load up their comic book files (cbr/cbz/cbt) into kthoom (a comic book reader).

This should help those users storing their comic books on Google Drive to be able to access them on Chromebooks. Haven’t tried it on a tablet yet – I wonder if that works…

I’m always accepting patches if someone wants to write the equivalent code for Microsoft OneDrive.

§1048 · August 26, 2014 · Uncategorized · 3 comments ·


I want to believe. SVG as an image format.After finding some time to go through and mass-delete spam comments on this blog, I realized that it’s time to turn on the “Automatically close comments on post older than XX days” checkbox in WordPress. This means that posts older than 90 days will no longer be able to be commented on.

In case it’s not obvious, I haven’t been writing that much here these days. I’ve been too busy at my day job as a Google+ engineer and at my night job being a husband and father. If you really want to “follow me” these days, the best bet is Google+ for now. Let me know if you need an invite.

I’m not saying I won’t pick up the ol’ blogging pen from time to time. In fact, writing this very post has made me realize how much the UI has improved in WordPress. Also, I might have a couple new things to talk about in a little while, which I’ll likely post here and reference on Google+.

And yes, I’ve obviously been fully absorbed into the collective at this point 🙂

§1021 · September 11, 2011 · Uncategorized · 3 comments ·


The Open Web logoThe Web has changed us forever. It’s not just about how we experience digital media or how we purchase things or even all that free porn. Yes it’s also given us new ways to satisfy our egos, express our ideas, publish works, report information, research, share new capabilities. But I’m also talking about fundamental things: new ways of communicating, learning, meeting people, keeping in touch with people, even grieving.

Read the rest of this entry …

§810 · April 10, 2010 · Uncategorized · Comments Off on The Sticky Web ·