Typescript Specifications version

[mtabaj]

I can't understand why specifications are fixed to version 1.8
They are a primary source of offline documentation, via de pdf or docx downloadables.
I know you have different issues open to update the specifications, but we talk about 6 month ago and nothing happens.
And in my opinion, is really a central issue.

[frankgerhardt]

That is confusing me as well now that the release is at 2.4.

Please, somebody clarify this!

[mtabaj]

I still can't understand why specifications update is not an issue for you.
It's the primary source for learning / teaching Typescript for most people.
And is not in your planning at all.

[mhegazy]

We are currently working on updating the spec. issues marked with spec should give you more details about what is missing.

[MartinJohns]

@mhegazy Would be great if your statement would be true, but you're not working on updating the spec. :-(

[RyanCavanaugh]

@MartinJohns @DanielRosenwasser is working on this

[tneward]

The last updates to the TypeScript spec were three years ago, according to GitHub's commit tracking. It's really kind of hard to accept that anybody is working on this when there's zero updates--even working updates--that anybody outside of Microsoft can see. (And let's be clear, updates that nobody sees aren't really updates at all.)

Update the spec. Please. Or stop pretending, and take it down.

[RyanCavanaugh]

https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/commits/spec-update is the branch some work has been going in to.

Update the spec. Please. Or stop pretending, and take it down

Please maintain a constructive attitude. This isn't productive.

[mtabaj]

May be is not a constructive attitude. But two commits in 7 months is not productive neither.
I still can't understand that is not a priority for you. Is the main source for anyone that want to access typescript.

[RyanCavanaugh]

The Handbook is the intended entry point for users trying to learn about TypeScript. The spec isn't intended as a user-facing document and we've prioritized it as such. There are about four people on the planet who can accurately update the spec and all of them are quite busy already.

I agree in an ideal world the spec would be up to date, but as far as we know the current state of the spec isn't blocking anyone from doing any particular thing. If there are specific sections you need advice on, we'd be happy to weigh in, but if the complaint is simply the bare fact that it's not current, I'm afraid you'll have to defer to the current state of priorities.

[tneward]

For those of us who like to speak on TypeScript, or creating training around it, the spec is a non-optional piece of documentation. The Handbook is just that, a handbook, and does not contain the authoritative determination as to how the language can and should behave in various edge-case scenarios.

Frankly, it's not constructive to hold the attitude that there's only four people on the planet who are interested in the spec and they're all behind the Microsoft gate; there's a lot of people who are interested in such things and even if we can't update it, we find it interesting and useful to read.

So yes, the current state of the spec IS blocking people from doing any particular thing--such as training and lectures and such--and there is a particular section that we need information (not advice), and that's what the specification states around just about every feature introduced since 1.8.

Of course, as project maintainers, you have no obligation to update any particular piece of documentation, and in fact, I'd agree that things could move MUCH faster if you simply chose not to do any documentation whatsoever and repurposed those four peoples' time towards hacking. So do it! But don't get high-handed about it. Just mark the issue closed, remove the out-of-date documentation entirely, and call it a day. Then those of us who have an interest in promoting TypeScript to working developers (who aren't going to ever come to the website to read your handbook) can get the message clearly--that only those four people who are capable of updating the document are going to be capable of offering up anything beyond basics in terms of training and lectures. That way, we can move on to study other things. Because, surprisingly enough, we're all of us out here pretty busy too.

Don't tell me that I've no reason nor the technical skill to consume a document like that. I read the ECMAScript specs. I read the Java and C# specs. (Including all four partitions of the CLI spec.) Please maintain a constructive attitude about what I find productive.

[rpetrich]

@tneward If having a specification is so important to your ability to speak and train around TypeScript (activities that sound to be commercial in nature), I would suggest contributing edits to the existing specification to make it more in line with the current state of the language.