Add TypeScript support (old; don't merge)

[andrewsantarin]

I've got a working example of this using a test package using the TypeScript definitions in @andrewsantarin/staticify

The working example: https://github.com/andrewsantarin/staticify-test

Clone it, install dependencies, see the source on a TypeScript-capable IDE and run locally to see it in action.

In all honesty, it's overkill to actually prove that the types work on an actual Node.js project, but I have other uses for it.

[andrewsantarin]

Okay, it looks like TypeScript on Windows absolutely hates it when I use wildcards in the tsc command.

I didn't see this earlier because used macOS, which didn't throw any errors because the terminal supports wildcards, I think? (GitHub/typescript, Reddit, StackOverflow). Then I switched over to Windows and surely enough, found the problem.

I found out that there are two ways to solve this:

1. Use tsconfig.json and let this file handle the wildcards for that, at the cost of add additional file.

On package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "tsc": "tsc"
  }
}

On test/index.ts

import staticify, { StaticifyOptions } from 'staticify';

Then add a tsconfig.json file (like so) so that any TypeScript files under the /test folder will be picked up

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": [
      "es6"
    ],
    "strict": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "staticify": [ // Here be it
        "."
      ]
    }
  }
}

2. Explicitly mention which files to pass to tsc, at the cost of manually adding a new file each time we need it.

On package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "tsc": "tsc --esModuleInterop --noEmit test/index.ts"
  }
}

On test/index.ts

import staticify, { StaticifyOptions } from '../index';

[rakeshpai]

Thanks for this. I'll review over the weekend.

[andrewsantarin]

All right, @rakeshpai.

Do let me know which of the two approaches you'd rather go with. I took the 2nd one; the typecheck is simple and doesn't really need tsconfig.json yet.

[rakeshpai]

Hi @andrewsantarin I like the 2nd approach too. Should be good enough for the time being.

Just a thought - rather than creating a .d.ts file, wouldn't it be possible to use JSDoc comments and use tsc to generate the declaration files? Example: https://dev.to/open-wc/generating-typescript-definition-files-from-javascript-5bp2 (I've never used this technique myself.)

The benefit of this is that it's going to be easier for a JS developer to maintain, assuming no familiarity with TS.

[andrewsantarin]

@rakeshpai

The article you mentioned concludes that TypeScript has not yet made this an official feature yet.

While, yeah, we could use JSDoc to generate to generate *.d.ts, we require a tool to do that for us:

• a fork of typescript exists, but it has no guarantee that it'll be supported in the future (with the fellow engineers I work with, this is a red flag).
• phaser uses its owntsgen tool, which looks like a lot of work and only pays off if the source code is huge. We only have here, like, what, one index.js?

Also, consider the fact that you have a dependency with modules such as send. I'm not sure how that works with JSDoc comments. Hopefully, you know how to typify options.sendOptions as SendOptions correctly on JSDoc, because I sure as hell don't. 😅

tl;dr: It's possible, but a resounding "impractical given the hands we have", in my opinion.

[XhmikosR]

@andrewsantarin you need to double quote the globs in npm scripts. Never forget this :P

[andrewsantarin]

@andrewsantarin you need to double quote the globs in npm scripts. Never forget this :P

Sorry, @rakeshpai, I don't understand what you mean. Like this?

"tsc": "tsc --esModuleInterop --noEmit \"test/index.ts\"

[XhmikosR]

#49 (comment)

The reason is the missing double quotes.

[rakeshpai]

#49 (comment)

Ok, seems fair. This PR LGTM. @XhmikosR does this look fine to you?

[XhmikosR]

I don't use Typescript myself so I can't comment on the change itself.

[XhmikosR]

Also, I'm not sure about the added test. Why do we need it? I'd rather have less scripts personally.

[andrewsantarin]

@XhmikosR It's there so that if the machine that's running the tests doesn't have, let's say a TypeScript-compatible editor like VSCode, you can still verify the types work. Personally, I don't need it because VSCode is exactly what I use, so if simpler scripts is seriously the way to go, then ping me so that I can remove the tsc script.

Also, @rakeshpai @XhmikosR, please excuse my being late! Hope you're still keen on accepting this PR.