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Programming TypeScript: Making Your JavaScript Applications Scale 1st Edition
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Any programmer working with a dynamically typed language will tell you how hard it is to scale to more lines of code and more engineers. That’s why Facebook, Google, and Microsoft invented gradual static type layers for their dynamically typed JavaScript and Python code. This practical book shows you how one such type layer, TypeScript, is unique among them: it makes programming fun with its powerful static type system.
If you’re a programmer with intermediate JavaScript experience, author Boris Cherny will teach you how to master the TypeScript language. You’ll understand how TypeScript can help you eliminate bugs in your code and enable you to scale your code across more engineers than you could before.
In this book, you’ll:
- Start with the basics: Learn about TypeScript’s different types and type operators, including what they’re for and how they’re used
- Explore advanced topics: Understand TypeScript’s sophisticated type system, including how to safely handle errors and build asynchronous programs
- Dive in hands-on: Use TypeScript with your favorite frontend and backend frameworks, migrate your existing JavaScript project to TypeScript, and run your TypeScript application in production
- ISBN-101492037656
- ISBN-13978-1492037651
- Edition1st
- PublisherO'Reilly Media
- Publication dateMay 21, 2019
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.01 x 0.67 x 9.17 inches
- Print length322 pages
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From the Preface
This is a book for programmers of all walks: professional JavaScript engineers, C# people, Java sympathizers, Python lovers, Ruby aficionados, Haskell nerds. Whatever language(s) you write in, so long as you have some experience programming and know the basics of functions, variables, classes, and errors, this book is for you. Some experience with JavaScript, including a basic knowledge of the Document Object Model (DOM) and the network, will help you along the way—while we don’t dive deep into these concepts, they are a wellspring of excellent examples, and if you’re not familiar with them the examples might not make as much sense.
Regardless of what programming languages you’ve used in the past, what unites all of us is our shared experience of tracking down exceptions, tracing through code line by line to figure out what went wrong and how we can fix it. This is the experience that TypeScript helps prevent by examining your code automatically and pointing out the mistakes you may have missed.

It’s OK if you haven’t worked with a statically typed language before. I’ll teach you about types and how to use them effectively to make your programs crash less, document your code better, and scale your applications across more users, engineers, and servers. I’ll try to avoid big words when I can, and explain ideas in a way that’s intuitive, memorable, and practical, using lots of examples along the way to help keep things concrete.
That’s the thing about TypeScript: unlike a lot of other typed languages, TypeScript is intensely practical. It invents completely new concepts so you can speak more concisely and precisely, letting you write applications in a way that’s fun, modern, and safe.
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Product details
- Publisher : O'Reilly Media
- Publication date : May 21, 2019
- Edition : 1st
- Language : English
- Print length : 322 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1492037656
- ISBN-13 : 978-1492037651
- Item Weight : 1.14 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.01 x 0.67 x 9.17 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #179,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #28 in JavaScript Programming (Books)
- #156 in Software Development (Books)
- #323 in Programming Languages (Books)
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Customers find the book provides thorough explanations of TypeScript and appreciate its sensible typesetting. The content depth receives mixed feedback from customers.
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Customers find the book provides thorough explanations of TypeScript, with clear and sensible typesetting, and one customer mentions being able to put examples to use immediately.
"...6. Lastly, but absolutely not least, the typesetting, layout and physical dimensions of the book were perfect for comfortable reading on the train,..." Read more
"...Don't let the small size fool you. You'll be able to put examples to use immediately, and the way of thinking about TS will serve you well even as..." Read more
"...If you want an advanced, thorough explanation of TypeScript, this book is a good choice." Read more
"As someone who comes from a C# background, this book can easily be referenced and you can pick up TypeScript fairly quickly...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the content depth of the book, with some finding it immediately useful and helpful, while others mention it lacks depth and seems glossed over.
"...This book provides very clear and helpful advice about how to configure your build based on the requirements of your project. 5...." Read more
"This book is not for a serious TypeScript learner. I didn't find many topics, many were glossed over...." Read more
"...It establishes the why and what of TypeScript, the problems it solves, and a more general concept of what types are in any language, not just..." Read more
"An okay book, topics seemed a bit glossed over for me though...." Read more
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Great intro to Typescript
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI really, really enjoyed this book. I came away feeling both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about TypeScript.
1. It's perfectly paced for the seasoned programmer who wants to learn TypeScript fast, without getting bogged down in basic programming concepts.
2. The explanations are clear. There were times when I had to read a section a couple of times to understand it, particularly around advanced concepts in the type system; but this was generally due to the material itself, not to the manner in which it was communicated.
3. It was very thorough. I came away feeling that I had all the language and ecosystem-related knowledge required to use TypeScript confidently in production.
4. It covered not only the language, but also the ecosystem. The build system for TypeScript projects is inherently more complicated than for many other languages. There are many knobs and levers that can be adjusted. This book provides very clear and helpful advice about how to configure your build based on the requirements of your project.
5. The author has an enthusiastic writing style which contains just the right amount of humour to keep things "bouncing along" without getting too dry. For some, perhaps the little jokes throughout might be too much, but I kind of appreciated it.
6. Lastly, but absolutely not least, the typesetting, layout and physical dimensions of the book were perfect for comfortable reading on the train, at home on the couch, wherever. Many technical books with solid content are let down by writing that's too small, margins that are too narrow, or simply by the book itself being too large to comfortably hold and read. I was very grateful for the sensible typesetting and dimensions of this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2022Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI read this a long time ago as far as JS/TS time goes, but the mental models it established in my head still serve me well. It establishes the why and what of TypeScript, the problems it solves, and a more general concept of what types are in any language, not just specifically in JS/TS. (One example: Gradual typing and why you should stay away from `any`.)
While concepts are good to know, the book spends just enough time on them to lay the groundwork before getting into the details with examples that are immediately useful in your code. I definitely referred back to them when I started building real apps with TS.
In short, highly recommended, whether you're a new JS/TS dev or experienced. Don't let the small size fool you. You'll be able to put examples to use immediately, and the way of thinking about TS will serve you well even as the specific details of JS/TS/React/whatever never stop changing.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseTook 12 days to get the book and I have Amazon Prime. Ordered 9/19 and didn't receive until 9/30. The book was in good condition
- Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis is the 3rd TypeScript book that I have purchased and is by far the best. I'm an experienced programmer so I don't need basic programming concepts explained. I also like details on how things in the language work. This book accomplishes both. I had been using TypeScript for a year and a half before I got this book. Many questions that I had about how things worked were answered by this book. It has great explanations of generics and how classes work (type vs value). Highly recommend.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2023Format: PaperbackVerified PurchasePrerequisites: You need to know JavaScript first.
If you want an advanced, thorough explanation of TypeScript, this book is a good choice.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis is one of the best introductions to a programming language that I’ve come across in a while. The author had a very casual style, but it worked for me. He covered a lot of ground without a ton of words, which I found refreshing. I refer back to this book frequently and typescript has become one of my favorite languages because of this book. I would highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is one of the best introductions to a programming language that I’ve come across in a while. The author had a very casual style, but it worked for me. He covered a lot of ground without a ton of words, which I found refreshing. I refer back to this book frequently and typescript has become one of my favorite languages because of this book. I would highly recommend.Great intro to Typescript
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2019Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is not for a serious TypeScript learner.
I didn't find many topics, many were glossed over.
No getters/setters on classes, the async/await chapter section was a joke, this pretty important topic was dismissed as "just a syntactic sugar" without giving any explanation of how the transpile process handles it.
The casual style of the author looks OK at first, but becomes annoying fast.
Creating good abstractions is clearly not author's forte, Keanu Reeves and Star Trek referrals clearly don't help me understand type nuances better.
The book should either be written in a more concise way or be thicker. Too much blabber in between every topic don't make it a good reference book that I'd be using in the future.
Verdict:
1. Read once
2. Put on the top shelf and forget about it.
3. Use the TypeScript official documentation.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2019Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseAs someone who comes from a C# background, this book can easily be referenced and you can pick up TypeScript fairly quickly. So far, the only thing I disagree with the author is that types should always be declared rather than letting inference work it's magic. My reasoning is that declaring types may be a few extra keystrokes, but the code becomes more explicit to another developer. That's more subjective and isn't enough to dock a star.
Top reviews from other countries
- Just Some GuyReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book for SENIOR Software Engineers
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis is a great book, but I wouldn't recommend it as your very first TypeScript (TS) book unless you’re already very senior with BOTH ES6 AND a strongly typed coding language (C#, Java, Swift, etc.).
If you're at that level, this book is perfect for you. The author methodically covers all the language features of TS from bottom to top, with a really dense signal-to-noise ratio on almost every page (the occasional slightly-too-long geek-humor aside notwithstanding).
IF you are NOT already senior in both ES6 and a typed language, I wouldn't start with this book. Why not? I say that because the author's writing style is very much targeted at those who already know all the vocabulary, and the usage/value/purpose, of most features he explains along the way. This is NOT a book that will teach you what these features are if you don’t already know. He gives plenty of really good code examples, but as those features get more advanced you may struggle if you don’t already have an understanding of the general meaning/purpose/value of those features. It's a book that assumes you know _a_few_ other typed languages already, and you just want to learn how to do the things you're already familiar with, using TypeScript.
While I _am_ very experienced with JS/ES6, and I _have_ worked with typed languages before, I'll admit I'm new to generic types (i.e. these guys… <T>, <T, U>, etc.). I learned from this book that these are central to TS, and that they're a super powerful abstraction feature. But honestly, I'm still super confused about how they work, how I'll properly use them, etc.
This book didn't quite get me there with “generics”, so I need to do some more reading (and hacking) to figure that all out. Since this is my first TS book, that's fine – but while generics are the only thing I had real trouble with, unless you're experienced with types in general there may a few other things that leave you confused after reading this book.
Final word: This is a GREAT BOOK - but it’s NOT for beginners. If you’re not a ninja already, learn ES6 and TS basics elsewhere first, then come to this book when you’re ready for that one permanent reference book to keep on your desk until TypeScript goes out of style.
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Oswaldo M.Reviewed in Mexico on October 7, 2023
4.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseA mí hijo le gusto, que está muy bueno.
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ErickReviewed in Brazil on April 5, 2024
1.0 out of 5 stars Livro veio sujo
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseErickLivro veio sujo
Reviewed in Brazil on April 5, 2024
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- Vladimir BystrovReviewed in the United Arab Emirates on January 10, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality and fast delivery
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThe book was delivered in 1 day, very good content about TypeScript for beginners, recommend it
- DAMIAN VICINOReviewed in Canada on July 9, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Great coverage of a not so obvious language to learn
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI loved how book covered the topics, starting from the type system and all its little corner cases and how there is explanations of how the language had to get those corner cases to be able to actually exist.