As much as I am a fan of TypeScript, I agree that TypeScript tends to make me feel too "safe" with my code.
The key to being a great coder is to acknowledge that "too safe" feeling. It doesn't mean that TS is garbage. It doesn't mean that you should abandon it. It still has many points in its favor. As long as you're fully cognizant of that "too safe" tendency, you'll at least be more likely to guard against it.
we want to avoid "defensive programming", where we use a bunch of if checks just to sanitize and validate input.
Totally agree. That's why my next post will be outlining my approach to that problem, which, I believe, vastly simplifies the problems associated with defensive coding. (And endless if (... checks.)
But in secure environments where the data has already been sanitized and validated (by means of defensive programming beforehand), I can say that this is where TypeScript really shines.
Absolutely!
My main takeaway from this article is that TypeScript lives in a "perfect" world. It's an incredible tool for controlled internal environments. Otherwise, in user-facing runtimes, type "safety" is a dangerous habit that leads us to assume too much about the "outside" world.
That's precisely one of my main points. TS certainly has value. In some cases, it can be an amazing tool. But I'm seriously questioning its usefulness in purely frontend applications that rely on reams of "outside" data to fulfill their purpose.
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Great feedback!
The key to being a great coder is to acknowledge that "too safe" feeling. It doesn't mean that TS is garbage. It doesn't mean that you should abandon it. It still has many points in its favor. As long as you're fully cognizant of that "too safe" tendency, you'll at least be more likely to guard against it.
Totally agree. That's why my next post will be outlining my approach to that problem, which, I believe, vastly simplifies the problems associated with defensive coding. (And endless
if (...checks.)Absolutely!
That's precisely one of my main points. TS certainly has value. In some cases, it can be an amazing tool. But I'm seriously questioning its usefulness in purely frontend applications that rely on reams of "outside" data to fulfill their purpose.