JavaScript is a common programming language known to most of the developers and its one of the languages that developers can use to make Windows 8-based apps. Today, Microsoft announced a new programming language which it is calling TypeScript that’s designed to extend the features of the familiar JavaScript.

Microsoft has already launched the official TypeScript webpage, which includes an early version that developers can download right now to check out for themselves.

In a post on the Visual Studio blog, S. Somasegar, the corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, talks about the growth of JavaScript among developers. Microsoft’s plan with TypeScript it to make it easier for software makers to create large scale JavaScript-based applications.

Microsoft TypeScript is open source and its code source is licenced under Apache 2.0, which is available on Codeplex.

“TypeScript syntax includes several proposed features of Ecmascript 6 (ES6), including classes and modules. TypeScript also provides to JavaScript programmers a system of optional type annotations. These type annotations are like the JSDoc comments found in the Closure system, but in TypeScript they are integrated directly into the language syntax.”

Watch the video below to learn more about the Microsoft Typescript project and see it in action, with Anders Hejlsberg introducing the new features of Typescript.

Source: Visual Studio blog