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Why Go wasn’t the right choice for the TypeScript compiler
- The TypeScript compiler was rewritten in Go for performance gains, but it raises concerns about ecosystem disruption and maintainability.
- While Go offers speed improvements, the existing TypeScript ecosystem's tooling and APIs may face challenges and potential obsolescence.
- Choosing Rust over Go could have provided better long-term benefits, such as safety, extensibility, and ecosystem alignment.
- Go's limitations in generics support, metaprogramming capabilities, and contributor friction are already noticeable in the TypeScript compiler's migration.
- Community feedback indicates a preference for Rust due to its strengths in safety, performance, and familiarity within the TypeScript ecosystem.
- The TypeScript team's decision to switch to Go poses risks in terms of long-term maintenance, developer experience, and community acceptance.
- While Go excels in CLI performance, concerns arise regarding compatibility issues, such as changes affecting tools like ts-loader.
- The move to Go challenges TypeScript's core development feedback loop, potentially widening the gap between building and using the language.
- Critics highlight how TypeScript's pragmatic choice of Go may impact community momentum, contributor inclusivity, and ecosystem consistency.
- Although Go offers speed benefits, the trade-offs in ecosystem disruption and the potential shift to Rust for compilers raise questions about true pragmatism.
- While the Go choice enhances speed, the deeper costs of ecosystem integration and long-term limitations suggest that Rust might have been a more sustainable option for TypeScript's future.
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