What is TypeScript?

Michael Garrity — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:46:00 GMT

Have you heard of TypScript, yet? That’s Microsoft’s new JavaScript-like programming language that the company just released a developer preview of a few weeks ago.

TypeScript is translated into good old JavaScript so that apps developed with the language can run in any type of browser, which naturally begs the question, “Why come up with TypeScript to begin with?”

See, while this new language has a similar syntax to JavaScript, it also offers a slew of additional features that you can’t get with JavaScript, including optional static typing, class declarations, a Visual Studio plugin and module support. According to Microsoft, this will make it easier to build larger, more complex applications without straying too wildly from the commonly used JavaScript path.

In fact, Microsoft has been looking forward with this new project, and apparently much of TypeScript is based on the next version of JavaScript that is currently being developed by the ECMA.

Also in an effort to be more forward-thinking, TypeScript is being developed to work with existing frameworks and libraries like Backbone.js, which intend to make it easier for people to create more large-scale applications suited to the Web today. Thus, any JavaScript code should be able to be pasted into TypeScript and work just fine.

TypeScript was developed by Microsoft’s Anders Hajlsberg, along with Steve Lucco and Luke Hoban. The language’s source code has been licensed under Apache 2.0 and now on Codeplex.

Student Developers Try to Crack Joomla's Core

Michael Garrity — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT

The widely used open-source content management system (CMS) Joomla will be participating in the Google Summer of Code program to allow students 18 and older to contribute to the company’s CMS core.

Google Summer of Code is an international program that gives students stipends (up to $5,000) to write code for open-source projects.

Eight different students will each be working on a separate project, and when they’re finished their work will be considered by Joomla for inclusion in its platform. Among the assignments are creating APIs for integrating Facebook and Google services onto a Joomla-powered website, MediaWiki APIs and multi-language options for Joomla installation.

Summer of Code ends on August 24, but the codes won’t be moved immediately into the Joomla CMS core; rather, they will continue to be developed, and may even be used by extension developers. Many of the projects involved in the program are focused on the Joomla platform, providing the infrastructure for the future development of the CMS and other applications that build upon it.

The Joomla platform generously allows developers to create multi-purpose and multi-device apps (including mobile and cloud computing applications) and enterprise systems that can be run independently of its core CMS offering.

Students working on Joomla projects span the globe, coming from Brazil, Sri Lanka, the United States, Romania and France.

'Net Features : coding

What is TypeScript?

Student Developers Try to Crack Joomla's Core