If you're just starting your coding journey or looking to level up your skills, you might be wondering whether to learn JavaScript or TypeScript. JavaScript is the most popular programming language for web development, but TypeScript is gaining traction for its strong typing and other helpful features. In this article, I'll share seven reasons why beginners should choose TypeScript over JavaScript. Let's dive in!
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What Are JavaScript and TypeScript?
- Reasons to Choose TypeScript Over JavaScript
- Conclusion
- Socials
Introduction
What Are JavaScript and TypeScript?
JavaScript is the Swiss Army knife of web development. It powers interactivity on websites, from dropdown menus to online games. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and JavaScript has a few quirks that can be tricky for beginners.
Enter TypeScript, JavaScript’s superhero cousin. TypeScript adds strong typing and other helpful features that make your code more predictable and easier to maintain. Think of TypeScript as JavaScript with training wheels. It helps you catch errors early and write more reliable code.
7.2 Reasons to Choose TypeScript Over JavaScript in 2025
1. Learning Made Easier (Really!) ✨
Contrary to what some might think, TypeScript doesn't make learning harder, Believe I used to think that too but then I faced my fears and tried it out.
TypeScript makes learning JavaScript easier. How? Have you ever spent hours debugging a typo or a missing semicolon in your JavaScript code? TypeScript catches these errors before you even run your program.
Those red squiggly lines in your IDE? They're not enemies. They're like little learning assistants showing you exactly what needs attention. but now you think you have to master TS before you can start building projects, right? Wrong! Check out the next point.
const greet = (name: string): string => {
return `Hello, ${name}!`
}
// If you mistakenly pass a number, TypeScript will flag an error.
greet(42) // Error: Argument of type 'number' is not assignable to parameter of type 'string'.
2. Gradual Learning Curve 📈
I started using TypeScript exactly a year ago to be precise in 2023, I started building a project for programatic SEO named Maths Calculators. I didn't know TypeScript at all, but I was able to start building my project with just a basic understanding of the language. I used type, number, string and boolean types, and that was enough to get me started.
let username: string = "JohnDoe";
let age: number = 25;
let isAdmin: boolean = false;
As I built more features and projects, I learned more about TypeScript's advanced features, like interfaces and generics.
I loved using Chakra UI as a UI framework which have excellent TypeScript support, I was able to learn more about TypeScript
like interfaces and generics. As I grew more comfortable with TypeScript, I started using more advanced features like type inference, Omit, and Partial.
Partial is my personal favourite, it allows you to make all the properties of an object optional. I like to think of it as a "friends with benefits" relationship. You get auto-completion in your IDE, but you're not committed to the properties.
interface User {
name: string;
age: number;
isAdmin?: boolean;
}
const user: Partial<User> = {
name: "John",
}; // All properties optional
3. Future-Proof Your Skills 🤹♀️
Major companies like Microsoft, Google, and Airbnb use TypeScript. By learning TypeScript, you’re investing in a skill that’s in high demand.
Popular frameworks with TypeScript support:
- React
- Vue
- Angular
- Node.js
- GraphQL
- Chakra UI
- Chakra Framer
- TypeScript
- TypeORM
- NestJS
- Prisma
- Next.js
- List goes on and on...
4. Easy Refactoring 🛠️
I think refactoring is what I do the most in my projects. I'm always looking for ways to make my code cleaner and more maintainable.
TypeScript makes refactoring a breeze. When you change a function's signature or rename a variable using Ctrl + Shift + R or F2 in VSCode, TypeScript will show you all the places in your code that need to be updated. This saves you time and helps you avoid introducing bugs.
5. Better for Large-Scale Applications 🏰
I have built dozens of projects by now and I can tell you that TypeScript is a game-changer for large-scale applications. Here's why:
- Predictable code
- Fewer bugs in production
- Easier collaboration in teams
- Better code maintainability
- Faster onboarding for new developers (like me and you)
- Improved developer experience aka DX
6. Growing Community and Ecosystem 🌱
TypeScript has a large, active community that shares tips, tricks, and best practices.
My top resources for learning TypeScript:
7. Career Opportunities 🚀
This is a big one. Back to start of 2023 I was looking our for opportunities to work with remote companies, and guess what? Most of them were looking for developers with TypeScript skills and GraphQL. I had already started learning GraphQL and now I was learning TypeScript. I was able to land a job with a remote company that was using TypeScript and was planing to use GraphQL. I was able to hit the ground running because I had already been using TypeScript in my personal projects.
But as a beginner, you might be thinking, "I'm just starting out. Why should I worry about future job opportunities?" Well, TypeScript is a skill that's in high demand, and learning it now can give you a head start in your career. Plus, TypeScripts is used on every other Frontend Framework like React, Vue, Svelte, Angular and even on the backend with Node.js.
0.2 Bonus: Compiler Magic 🧙♂️
The TypeScript compiler provides unique advantages:
- Type Checking: TypeScript catches errors before you run your code.
- Code Completion: TypeScript provides intelligent code completion based on the types in your code.
- Refactoring: TypeScript helps you rename variables and functions across your codebase.
- Code Navigation: TypeScript allows you to jump to the definition of a variable or function.
- Code Formatting: TypeScript can format your code according to your preferences.
- Code Linting: TypeScript can enforce coding standards and best practices.
- Code Documentation: TypeScript can generate documentation for your code.
- Code Transformation: TypeScript can transform your code to different versions of JavaScript.
- Code Bundling: TypeScript can bundle your code for deployment.
- Code Splitting: TypeScript can split your code into smaller chunks for better performance.
Conclusion
TypeScript is a powerful tool that helps you write better code, catch bugs early, and future-proof your skills. If you’re just starting out, TypeScript might be the perfect choice for you. If you have any questions or need help getting started with TypeScript, feel free to reach out to via below social media handles. I'm always happy to help fellow developers on their coding journey. Happy coding!🎉
Top comments (0)