React Native - Start Development with Typescript

React Native is a popular framework for building mobile apps for both Android and iOS. It allows developers to write JavaScript code that can be run on both platforms, providing a fast and efficient way to create cross-platform apps. 

However, as your React Native app grows in complexity, it can become difficult to maintain and scale without adding type annotations and type checking to your code. That's where TypeScript comes in. 

TypeScript is a statically typed superset of JavaScript that was developed and is maintained by Microsoft.It was first released in 2012 and has since become a popular choice for developing large-scale web applications. TypeScript offers several features that make it a powerful and attractive option for developers, including type annotations, interfaces, classes, and namespaces. By adding TypeScript to your React Native project, you can take advantage of its statically typed features and improved type checking to write better, more maintainable code, scalable code and making it easier to catch errors early in the development process.  

Benefits of Typescript

• One of the main benefits of TypeScript is that it can catch type-related errors at compile time, rather than at runtime. This means that you can catch mistakes early in the development process and avoid bugs that would otherwise only become apparent when the application is running. TypeScript also provides a type system that helps you write more maintainable and scalable code.
• Another benefit of TypeScript is its compatibility with JavaScript. TypeScript is transpiled, or compiled, to JavaScript, making it compatible with all environments that support JavaScript. This means that you can write TypeScript code and then run it in your React Native app without modification.
• TypeScript also includes features like classes, interfaces, and namespaces, which can help you organize your code and create reusable components. This can be particularly useful in React Native, where it is common to build large and complex apps. For example, you can use interfaces to define the structure of objects, and then use these interfaces to enforce consistency across your codebase. 
• TypeScript also supports the latest features of JavaScript, including ES6 and ES7. This means that you can use modern JavaScript syntax, such as destructuring, arrow functions, and template literals, with the added benefits of TypeScript's type system.

Typescript vs Javascript

TypeScript and JavaScript are both programming languages used for web development, but they have some key differences.

1. TypeScript is a statically typed language, meaning that variables and function parameters must be declared with a specific type. This provides better type checking and can help catch errors earlier in the development process. JavaScript, on the other hand, is a dynamically typed language, meaning that variables can hold values of any type and type checking is done at runtime. which means that all valid Javascript code is valid Typescript code, but Typescript provides additional features such as optional type annotations, interfaces, and more.

Here is a simple example of a Javascript class and a equivalent Typescript class:

Javascript:

class User {
  constructor(name, email) {
    this.name = name;
    this.email = email;
  }

  getName() {
    return this.name;
  }

  getEmail() {
    return this.email;
  }
}

Typescript:

class User {
  name: string;
  email: string;

  constructor(name: string, email: string) {
    this.name = name;
    this.email = email;
  }

  getName(): string {
    return this.name;
  }

  getEmail(): string {
    return this.email;
  }
}

2. TypeScript also includes features from the latest versions of JavaScript, such as classes and interfaces, which can help write more structured and maintainable code. JavaScript, however, does not include these features until they are introduced in the latest version of ECMAScript.

3. Another advantage of TypeScript is its optional type annotations, which can make it easier for other developers to understand your code, and for you to refactor it. In JavaScript, it can be more difficult to know the type of a variable, making it harder to refactor code and maintain a large codebase.

4. TypeScript is transpiled, or compiled, to JavaScript, making it compatible with all environments that support JavaScript. This means that TypeScript code can be run in any browser or JavaScript environment without modification.

To use TypeScript in a React Native project, you will need to install the TypeScript compiler and configure your project to use it. You can then write TypeScript code and use the compiler to transpile it to JavaScript, which can be run on the React Native platform.

Start New React Native Project with Typescript 

1. Install the React Native CLI: npm install -g react-native-cli

2. Create a new project: react-native init MyProject --template react-native-template-typescript

3. Change into the project directory: cd MyProject

4. Install the dependencies: npm install

5. Start the development server: npm run start

6. Run the app on an emulator or device: react-native run-android or react-native run-ios

This will create a new React Native project with TypeScript. You can then start building your app by editing the files in the src folder.

In conclusion, while JavaScript is a flexible and widely-used language, by using TypeScript in React Native, you can take advantage of its statically typed features and improved type checking to write better and more maintainable code. Whether you're starting a new project or converting an existing one, TypeScript is a great choice for React Native development.