Typescript uses type annotation to specify the data type of the variable, function or function return value. It uses the syntax :[type], where type is the Typescript type. Once you have annotated an identifier to be of a certain type, you can only use it as that Type. The Typescript compiler throws an error if you use the identifier as a different type.
Table of Contents
Using the Type Annotation
We annotate a variable by using a colon (:) followed by its type. There can be a space after the colon. For example, the following shows how to use the type annotation in variable declaration.
Type Annotation in Variable declaration
1 2 3 4 5 6 | var message : string = "hello world"; //string var NumberVar: number = 100; //number var BooleanVar : boolean = true; //boolean var ArrayVar: string[] //arrays |
The keyword after the colon i.e string/number/boolean is a Typescript type. By including a type, we are letting the compiler know the type of the variable. The compiler will throw an error in case we attempt to assign a value different than the specified type.
For Example, this will throw an error
1 2 3 | StringVar = NumberVar |
The types are optional in Typescript. If you do not want to use the types, then annotate it with any as shown below
1 2 3 4 | var StringVar : any= "hello world"; var NumberVar: any= 100; |
Then, the following example will not result in an error
1 2 3 | StringVar = NumberVar |
Examples of Type Annotation
Arrays
The arrays are annotated using the string[] or Array as shown in the example below.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | var cities: string[] = ['Delhi', 'New York', 'London']; //OR var cities: Array<string> =['Delhi', 'New York', 'London']; |
Function arguments & Return Types
Here, the function arguments are annotated with the number data type and so is the return type.
1 2 3 4 5 | function add(x: number, y: number): number { return x + y; } |
Anonymous Objects
Here, we are creating an object with two properties. The properties are annotated with the type number & string.
1 2 3 4 | var student: { id: number; name: string; }; student = { id: 100, name : "Rahul" } |
Union types
The union types are special. They allow a variable to be of either of two types. In the example, the id can be either a string or a number. The Typescript allows you to perform both string & arithmetic operation on the variable id.
1 2 3 | var id: string|number |
Summary
Types are the reason why typescript exits. We annotate a variable, function, function return value, etc to let the compiler know how we intend to use it. we use the syntax :[type], where type is the Typescript datatype.
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