TypeScript Creator Anders Hejlsberg on the Native Port to Go

Microsoft's TypeScript creator Anders Hejlsberg recently sat down with host Ryan Peterman to discuss the process of porting the popular coding language from JavaScript to Go.

The goal was to create a native port that would take advantage of modern hardware, resulting in significant speed gains. The TypeScript team worked on this project for over a year and maintained the structure and logic of the original codebase to ensure compatibility between compilers.

TypeScript 7 brings native code speed, shared memory multithreading, and several new optimizations that yield increased speeds of between 8x and 12x on full builds. Hejlsberg noted that they chose Go as the programming language for the port due to its type-safety and memory-safety features.

The team also used early testing and community partnerships to ensure a high-quality bar, with notable collaborations including the Visual Studio Code team and companies like Bloomberg and Slack.