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How do you feel about TypeScript? (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/programming

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Specifically, do you worry that Microsoft is going to eventually do the Microsoft thing and horribly fuck it up for everyone? I've really grown to appreciate the language itself, but I'm wary of it getting too ingrained at work only to have the rug pulled out from under us when it's become hard to back out.

Edit: not really "pulling the rug", but, you know, doing the Microsoft classic.

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[–] lysdexic 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I think you’re missing the point. It’s exactly cause Microsoft created it that people get worried about it.

I don't think there is any merit to that concern. Not only is TypeScript FLOSS, Microsoft also has an excellent track record developing high-quality programming languages and tech stacks. Take for example C#. It's been around for over two decades and if anything it's getting better by the release.

I understand the rationale behind the concern, but there is also a factor of mindlessly parroting cliches.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Just to play the Devil’s Advocate here.

FLOSS is provably insufficient as a token of certainty for longevity and fairness. Licenses can change — we’ve seen this with MongoDB, and even Terraform. Sure, you can fork them, but who’s to say if the ecosystem will follow suit? Most of the time, the ecosystem doesn’t move to the new FLOSS fork.

And I don’t think C# is a good example. C# runs on .NET, which is Microsoft’s own framework. TS compiles to JS (technically ECMAScript) and runs on V8, both of which aren’t “owned” by Microsoft. There’s ample room for Microsoft to take advantage of the popularity of TS to wedge their influence into the ECMAScript standard and the V8 engine, e.g. by extending TS with features not available or performant in JS, pull themselves ahead of the rest, and become the de facto standard. It’s a common playbook by large tech companies — Amazon takes FOSS projects, modify them, and put them up as services on AWS and eventually gain significant market share and influence; Google is doing something similar with the Web API Standards.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Aaand just to top of the cake with some cherry, here’s a blog post from someone who’s been paying a keen eye to what MS has been doing.

https://ghuntley.com/fracture/

I thought the .NET controversy with dotnet watch was many years ago and turns out it was pretty recent.

In any case, and I think I wrote this in my other comment, just because a project is FLOSS, doesn’t mean it’s all fine and dandy. FLOSS is just the means to an end, and while the community attaches a noble motivation behind it, FLOSS is just a method. The article mentioned that FLOSS is being used as a Venus fly trap, and I honestly couldn’t agree more.