Microsoft introduces TypeScript 5.5: Explore the latest features and enhancements

Microsoft has announced the launch of TypeScript 5.5, a programming language that builds on top of JavaScript. The new version is straightforward to install, you can get it from NuGet or if you prefer npm, just use the following command:

• npm install -D typescript

While explaining TypeScript, Microsoft mentioned that if you use Visual Studio or VS Code to write JavaScript code, it turns out you’ve really been writing TypeScript code all this time. That enables TypeScript’s editor tooling to do auto-completion, code navigation, and refactorings.

TypeScript 5.5 comes with plenty of new upgrades for software developers to try out and leverage in their projects. Below, you can find a list of all the new features in TypeScript 5.5 and clicking the links will take you to Microsoft's announcement which contains a longer description of each feature plus code examples.

• Inferred Type Predicates
• Control Flow Narrowing for Constant Indexed Accesses
• The JSDoc @import Tag
• Regular Expression Syntax Checking
• Support for New ECMAScript Set Methods
• Isolated Declarations
• The ${configDir} Template Variable for Configuration Files
• Consulting package.json Dependencies for Declaration File Generation
• Editor and Watch-Mode Reliability Improvements
• Performance and Size Optimizations
• Easier API Consumption from ECMAScript Modules
• The transpileDeclaration API
• Notable Behavioral Changes
  • Disabling Features Deprecated in TypeScript 5.0
  • lib.d.ts Changes
  • Stricter Parsing for Decorators
  • undefined is No Longer a Definable Type Name
  • Simplified Reference Directive Declaration Emit

With TypeScript 5.5 out of the door, Microsoft is turning its attention to TypeScript 5.6. According to the announcement, TypeScript 5.6 should be out of the door in early September. The team also said to be on the lookout for its TypeScript 5.6 Iteration plan.

The company said that it is also possible to run nightly versions of TypeScript 5.6 via npm. Nightlies are released at midnight PST every day but it's crucial to understand that these builds may not be well tested and could feature significant bugs. If you want to have a look anyway, enter the following command:

• npm install -D typescript@next

To learn more about setting up TypeScript nightly with your IDE, check out the nightly documentation, it include instructions for setting up with VS Code, Visual Studio, Sublime Text, and IntelliJ.

Source: Microsoft