TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that provides additional features such as static typing, classes, interfaces, and more. Python, on the other hand, is a high-level, dynamic programming language used for web development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and more. Combining TypeScript with Python can be a powerful combination for developing modern web applications. In this tutorial, we'll explore how to use TypeScript with Python.


Installing TypeScript

To get started with TypeScript, you first need to install it. You can do this using npm, which is the package manager for Node.js. If you don't have Node.js installed, you can download it from the official website.

Once you have Node.js installed, you can install TypeScript globally by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install -g typescript

To use TypeScript in a project, you need to set up a TypeScript configuration file. You can do this by creating a tsconfig.json file in the root directory of your project. The tsconfig.json file specifies the TypeScript compiler options and settings for your project.

Here's an example tsconfig.json file:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "es6",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "outDir": "dist",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules"]
}

Let's go through each of the compiler options:

  • target: Specifies the version of ECMAScript that the TypeScript compiler should output. In this case, we're using ES6.
  • module: Specifies the module system that TypeScript should use. In this case, we're using CommonJS.
  • outDir: Specifies the output directory for the compiled TypeScript files.
  • strict: Enables strict type checking options.
  • esModuleInterop: Enables compatibility with libraries that use CommonJS module syntax.

The include and exclude options specify which files should be included or excluded from the compilation process. In this case, we're including all files under the src directory and excluding the node_modules directory.


Writing TypeScript code

Now that we've set up our TypeScript project, let's write some TypeScript code. TypeScript has many features that are not available in JavaScript, such as static typing and interfaces.

Here's an example TypeScript class:

interface Person {
  name: string;
  age: number;
}

class Employee implements Person {
  name: string;
  age: number;
  salary: number;

  constructor(name: string, age: number, salary: number) {
    this.name = name;
    this.age = age;
    this.salary = salary;
  }

  getDetails(): string {
    return `Name: ${this.name}, Age: ${this.age}, Salary: ${this.salary}`;
  }
}

const employee = new Employee("John Doe", 30, 50000);
console.log(employee.getDetails());

In this example, we're defining an interface Person that has two properties: name and age. We're then defining a class Employee that implements the Person interface. The Employee class has three properties: name, age, and salary. The class also has a constructor that initializes these properties, and a method getDetails that returns a string with the employee's name, age, and salary.

We're creating a new instance of the Employee class and logging the employee's details to the console.


Using TypeScript with Python

To use TypeScript with Python, we can use a tool called Pyright.

Pyright is a static type checker for Python that is built using the TypeScript language server. Pyright can analyze Python code and report errors, such as type errors and syntax errors, in real-time.

To use Pyright, we need to install it. We can do this using pip, which is the package installer for Python. To install Pyright, run the following command in your terminal: 

pip install pyright

Once Pyright is installed, we can use it to analyze our TypeScript code. To do this, we need to create a pyrightconfig.json file in the root directory of our TypeScript project. The pyrightconfig.json file specifies the Pyright options and settings for our project.

Here's an example pyrightconfig.json file:

{
  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules"],
  "venvPath": "venv",
  "pythonPath": "venv/bin/python",
  "reportMissingImports": true
}
  • Let's go through each of the options:
  • include: Specifies which files should be analyzed by Pyright. In this case, we're including all files under the src directory that have the .ts extension.
  • exclude: Specifies which directories or files should be excluded from the analysis process. In this case, we're excluding the node_modules directory.
  • venvPath: Specifies the path to the Python virtual environment.
  • pythonPath: Specifies the path to the Python executable.
  • reportMissingImports: Enables reporting of missing imports.

With the pyrightconfig.json file in place, we can now use Pyright to analyze our TypeScript code. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:

pyright

This will start Pyright and analyze your TypeScript code. If Pyright finds any errors, it will report them in your terminal.


Conclusion

In this tutorial, we've explored how to use TypeScript with Python. We've seen how to set up a TypeScript project, write TypeScript code, and use Pyright to analyze our TypeScript code for errors. By combining the power of TypeScript with the versatility of Python, we can build modern web applications that are both robust and flexible.