The creator of Ruby on Rails, David Heinemeier Hansson, has announced that he will be terminating the support for Typescript in the Turbo project’s code. The decision was made to transition to using pure JavaScript starting with the release of Turbo 8. However, this change will not impact the ability to use Typescript in client code or connect libraries written in Typescript.
Hansson cites the fact that Typescript interferes with his development process and complicates tasks that should be simple as the reasons for terminating its use. He is dissatisfied not only with the additional compilation stage of Typescript, but also with the language’s tendency to clutter the code with unnecessary “gymnastics with types”. Despite some disagreement from users and contributors, the decision to remove Typescript was made swiftly.
Arguments in favor of Typescript mention its ability to simplify error identification in the code and make changes from third-party participants more convenient. There are concerns that a change in the language could disrupt various packages in the hotwire ecosystem, impact the acceptance of poll-stakes, and disrupt the logic of auto-filling systems in integrated media development. Some individuals are also unhappy with the lack of discussion and disregard for other participants’ opinions before making the decision to remove Typescript.
In response, David Hansson explained that a discussion between Typescript and JavaScript supporters would unlikely change the fundamental positions of either side. Additionally, the 37Signals team, responsible for overseeing the Turbo project, has fully transitioned to using pure JavaScript in both client code and internal libraries. This move not only improves code readability but also eliminates the need for developers to write extracts with types solely to satisfy the Typescript compiler.
The Turbo framework can be found at turbo.hotwired.dev.