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Getting Started with TypeScript: A Practical Guide

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Getting Started with TypeScript: A Practical Guide

TypeScript has become an essential skill for modern web developers. This guide will help you understand why TypeScript matters and how to start using it effectively.

Why TypeScript?

TypeScript adds static typing to JavaScript, which provides several benefits:

  • **Catch errors early:** Many bugs are caught at compile time rather than runtime
  • **Better IDE support:** Enhanced autocomplete, refactoring, and navigation
  • **Self-documenting code:** Types serve as inline documentation
  • **Easier refactoring:** The compiler catches breaking changes

Setting Up Your First TypeScript Project

# Create a new directory
mkdir my-ts-project

Initialize npm and TypeScript npm init -y npm install typescript --save-dev

Initialize TypeScript config npx tsc --init ```

Basic Types

TypeScript includes several built-in types:

// Primitive types
let name: string = "Alice";
let age: number = 30;

// Arrays let numbers: number[] = [1, 2, 3]; let names: Array = ["Alice", "Bob"];

// Objects interface User { id: number; name: string; email?: string; // Optional property }

const user: User = { id: 1, name: "Alice" }; `

Functions with Types

// Function parameters and return type
function greet(name: string): string {
  return `Hello, ${name}!`;

// Arrow function with types const add = (a: number, b: number): number => a + b;

// Function with optional parameters function log(message: string, level?: string): void { console.log([${level || 'INFO'}] ${message}); } `

Generics

Generics allow you to write reusable, type-safe code:

function identity<T>(value: T): T {
  return value;

const str = identity("hello"); // type is string const num = identity(42); // type is number

// Generic interface interface Response { data: T; status: number; } `

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, here are some resources to continue learning:

  1. [TypeScript Handbook](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/)
  2. Practice by converting a small JavaScript project to TypeScript
  3. Explore advanced types like union types, intersection types, and mapped types

Happy coding!

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