In this first chapter, we start by looking back in time in order to explain how the JavaScript language has evolved since its creation. This will help us to better understand why/where TypeScript comes into the picture.
We begin by illustrating the problems of vanilla JavaScript. Then, we will turn our attention to TypeScript.
This chapter also states how TypeScript can improve code quality and a developer's life, and help larger teams, by making it possible to create solid and easier-to-maintain code bases.
After that, we review some of the tools that you will need to work on the projects provided in the book and cover how to install each of them. This includes the code editor, the JavaScript runtime, the package manager, a source control management system, TypeScript, and more.
We will also see how to write the famous Hello World program with TypeScript and you'll learn a few things about variable declarations and basic TypeScript types.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- Overview of the current frontend software development landscape
- What is TypeScript and how does it help to improve code quality?
- Similarities between .NET (C#), Java, and TypeScript
- The minimum level of toolkit necessary for frontend development
- How to install Visual Studio Code
- How to install Git
- How to install Node.js and npm
- How to update npm
- Where are npm packages installed?
- How to install TypeScript
- Introduction to basic TypeScript types (boolean, number, string, string literals)
- Variable declarations: var versus let versus const
- Basic functions
- How to write the Hello World program in TypeScript