Overview

TypeScript

Stacks105.1K

Followers74.2K

Votes503

GitHub Stars106.6K

Forks13.1K

Nunjucks

Stacks86

Followers91

Votes6

GitHub Stars8.8K

Forks647

Nunjucks vs TypeScript: What are the differences?

Introduction

Nunjucks and TypeScript are two different technologies used in web development. Nunjucks is a templating language while TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript. Both have their own unique features and use cases. In this section, we will discuss the key differences between Nunjucks and TypeScript.

1. Syntax and Purpose:

Nunjucks is primarily used for rendering data on the server-side and supports template inheritance, logic statements, and data interpolation. It provides a powerful solution for generating dynamic HTML templates. On the other hand, TypeScript is a programming language that adds static typing capabilities to JavaScript, allowing developers to catch type-related errors early during development and improve code maintainability.

2. Dynamic vs Static Typing:

One of the main differences between Nunjucks and TypeScript is the type system they use. Nunjucks does not have a strict type system as it focuses on generating HTML templates dynamically. It does not enforce variable type checking at compile-time. TypeScript, on the other hand, has a static type system that enables developers to define variable types and catch type-related errors at compile-time. This helps in identifying bugs early and improving code quality.

3. Ecosystem and Development Tools:

Nunjucks has a smaller ecosystem compared to TypeScript. It is mainly used as a templating engine and does not have a rich set of development tools and libraries available. TypeScript, being a programming language, has a large and vibrant ecosystem with various tools, frameworks, and libraries that enhance productivity and make development easier.

4. Compile-time vs Runtime Errors:

With Nunjucks, errors are often detected at runtime during template rendering. These can include syntax errors, undefined variable references, or missing template files. In contrast, TypeScript's static typing and compiler checks catch errors at compile-time. This allows developers to identify and fix issues before running the code, reducing the chances of runtime errors.

5. Browser Compatibility:

Nunjucks templates are server-side rendered and the generated HTML can be displayed in any browser. It is compatible with all modern browsers. On the other hand, TypeScript is a programming language that needs to be transpiled into JavaScript before running in browsers. The generated JavaScript code needs to be compatible with the target browsers, which may require additional configuration and polyfills.

6. Learning Curve:

Nunjucks has a simpler syntax and is relatively easy to learn compared to TypeScript. It focuses on generating HTML templates and does not require expertise in programming concepts like type systems, classes, and interfaces. TypeScript, being a programming language, has a steeper learning curve as developers need to understand its syntax, static typing, and advanced JavaScript concepts to write TypeScript code efficiently.

In summary, Nunjucks is a templating language primarily used for server-side rendering, while TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that improves code maintainability through static typing. Nunjucks has a simpler syntax, while TypeScript has a more powerful type system and a larger ecosystem. TypeScript catches errors at compile-time, while Nunjucks may encounter them at runtime. Additionally, Nunjucks is compatible with all modern browsers, while TypeScript requires transpilation and consideration for browser compatibility.

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Advice on TypeScript, Nunjucks

Peter

May 17, 2019

Reviewon

TypeScript

I use TypeScript because:

incredible developer tooling and community support
actively developed and supported by Microsoft (yes, I like Microsoft) ;)
easier to make sense of a TS codebase because the annotations provide so much more context than plain JS
refactors become easier (VSCode has superb support for TS)

I've switched back and forth between TS and Flow and decided a year ago to abandon Flow completely in favor of TS. I don't want to bash Flow, however, my main grievances are very poor tooling (editor integration leaves much to be desired), a slower release cycle, and subpar docs and community support.

135k views135k

Comments

Jarvis

May 16, 2019

Reviewon

TypeScript

Flow (JS)

I use TypeScript because it isn't just about validating the types I'm expecting to receive though that is a huge part of it too. Flow (JS) seems to be a type system only. TypeScript also allows you to use the latest features of JavaScript while also providing the type checking. To be fair to Flow (JS), I have not used it, but likely wouldn't have due to the additional features I get from TypeScript.

168k views168k

Comments

David

VP Engineering at Trolley

May 16, 2019

Reviewon

JavaScript

Flow (JS)

TypeScript

We originally (in 2017) started rewriting our platform from JavaScript to Flow (JS) but found the library support for Flow was lacking. After switching gears to TypeScript we've never looked back. At this point we're finding that frontend and backend libraries are supporting TypeScript out of the box and where the support is missing that the commuity is typically got a solution in hand.

173k views173k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

TypeScript	Nunjucks
TypeScript is a language for application-scale JavaScript development. It's a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.	Rich Powerful language with block inheritance, autoescaping, macros, asynchronous control, and more. Heavily inspired by jinja2. It supports all modern browsers.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 106.6K	GitHub Stars 8.8K
GitHub Forks 13.1K	GitHub Forks 647
Stacks 105.1K	Stacks 86
Followers 74.2K	Followers 91
Votes 503	Votes 6
Pros & Cons
Pros 173 More intuitive and type safe javascript 105 Type safe 80 JavaScript superset 48 The best AltJS ever 27 Best AltJS for BackEnd Cons 5 Code may look heavy and confusing 4 Hype	Pros 4 Supported by Mozilla 2 Easy sintaxis like JS
Integrations
No integrations available	JavaScript Google Chrome Firefox

What are some alternatives to TypeScript, Nunjucks?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.