Advanced Types 1
Advanced Types
Summary
• Using a type alias we can create a new name (alias) for a type. We often use type aliases
to create custom types.
• With union types, we can allow a variable to take one of many types (eg number |
string).
• With intersection types, we can combine multiple types into one (eg Draggable &
Resizable).
• Using optional chaining (?.) we can simplify our code and remove the need for null
checks.
• Using the Nullish Coalescing Operator we can fallback to a default value when dealing
with null/unde ned objects.
• Sometimes we know more about the type of a variable than the TypeScript compiler. In
those situations, we can use the as keyword to specify a different type than the one
inferred by the compiler. This is called type assertion.
• The unknown type is the type-safe version of any. Similar to any, it can represent any
value but we cannot perform any operations on an unknown type without rst
narrowing to a more speci c type.
• The never type represents values that never occur. We often use them to annotate
functions that never return or always throw an error.
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Advanced Types 2
Cheat Sheet
Type alias
type Employee = {
id: number;
name: string;
retire: (date: Date) => void
Union types
let weight: number | string = 1;
weight = '1kg';
Intersection types
type UIWidget = Draggable & Droppable;
Literal types
type Quantity = 50 | 100;
Nullable types
let name: string | null = null;
Optional chaining (?.)
customer?.birthdate?.getFullYear();
customers?.[0];
log?.('message');
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Advanced Types 3
Nullish coalescing operator
someValue ?? 30
Type assertion
obj as Person
The unknown type
function render(document: unknown) {
// We have to narrow down to a specific
// type before we can perform any operations
// on an unknown type.
if (typeof document === 'string') {
}
}
The never type
function processEvents(): never {
// This function never returns because
// it has an infinite loop.
while (true) {}
}
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Advanced Types 4
Compiler Options
Option Description
strictNullChecks When enabled, null and unde ned will not be
acceptable values for variables unless you explicitly
declare them as nullable. So, you’ll get an error if you
set a variable to null or unde ned.
allowUnreachableCode When set the false, reports error about unreachable
code.
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