Microsoft has launched the beta for TypeScript 5.7

In September, Microsoft officially released TypeScript 5.6. This is the latest official version of the programming language that was based initially on JavaScript. Well, Microsoft is not wasting any time working on a new version of TypeScript, as it has just released the first public beta of version 5.7.

In a blog post, Microsoft outlined some of the new features that have been included in the beta of TypeScript 5.7. One of them deals with a long-time problem with the language, where it was unable to find errors in certain variables:

For a long time, TypeScript has been able to catch issues when a variable has not yet been initialized in all prior branches. Unfortunately, there are some places where this analysis doesn’t work. For example, if the variable is accessed in a separate function, the type system doesn’t know when the function will be called, and instead takes an "optimistic" view that the variable will be initialized.

The blog post says TypeScript 5.7 will now be able to detect errors if when variables have not been initialized. You can check out all of the new features and improvements for the new version in the blog.

Microsoft says that with the release of the beta of TypeScript 5.7, it is what it calls "feature-stable". That means there won't be any new features added to the new version, and that Microsoft will now concentrate on polishing TypeScript 5.7 and fixing any bugs that it will detect, along with some "Low-risk editor features."

Although changes in release plans can, and sometimes do, happen, Microsoft has posted a current plan for the release of TypeScript 5.7 on its GitHub page. It currently has a date of November 11 when it plans to launch a Release Candidate version, and that will be quickly followed up by the official launch of TypeScript 5.7 on November 21.