TypeScript ideal for building complex Large Scale Web Applications with React

During the Iginite Australia 2017 event Jakub Jedryszek delivered an interesting presentation on how to build large scale applications with TypeScript.

The presentation is available on the Microsoft Channel 9 video service. In the Jakub goes through some of the basics of TypeScript and fills in background information on how JavaScript applications often lack structure.

TypeScript can help with this by adding structure and a codebase that can be refactored.

The JavaScript ecosystem is increasingly used for applications with high complexity. Building declarative UIs with React.js and state management using Redux enables high technical quality, but strong typing offers a safety many developers have noticed.

One evidence of this is the increasing popularity of TypeScript, the technology allows gradually typing JavaScript code for improved tooling and reliable refactoring - all features needed in complex software projects with large teams of developers. Universal React libraries like After.js and Next.js add Server Side Rendering.

TypeScript and React are a great match Microsoft is dogfooding

Microsoft is certainly embracing TypeScript and React. They've added JSX support to TypeScript (.tsx). And not only have they've released their project template as open source, they're also eating their own dog food by using React.js and TypeScript on Outlook.com.

In the case of Outlook Microsoft is using their home grown state management library Satchel. Satchel builds on the MobX library from Mendix, it so happens that MobX well with React and TypeScript.

All in all it is safe to say TypeScript and React are a future proof option for complex application development using web technologies. The combination is already being used for automotive and industrial purposes at companies like Aston Martin, Kemppi, Metso and Rocla.