Creator of TypeScript: 10x Faster Typescript, Why AI Won't Replace SWEs | Anders Hejlsberg

Anders Hejlsberg is the creator of TypeScript and C#, and I asked him about how the TypeScript compiler got 10x faster through a rewrite in Go and his thoughts on how AI has impacted software engineering.

• My ergonomic keyboard project I mentioned, you can follow along here: https://read.compose.llc/

• The Kickstarter page for it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose-simple-ergonomics-beautifully-done

Podcast links:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cywK3XYYJ2o

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835

• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/creator-of-typescript-10x-faster

Thank you to this episode's sponsors for supporting my work:

• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at https://workos.com/

• Jira by Atlassian: Get more work done with your favorite agents and models all in one place, check them out at https://jira.dev/

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(00:48) Why write a compiler in JavaScript

(07:29) Why rewrite the compiler in Go

(14:49) LLMs for large migrations

(20:12) Why Javascript is so popular

(26:32) Why ever use Javascript on the backend

(32:59) What it takes to build a programming language

(37:06) Will there be fewer languages in 10 years

(42:57) Hands on engineering vs delegation

(49:14) Why fast tooling matters more now

(51:16) AI software engineering predictions

(58:52) The most technically challenging work

(01:02:04) Top book recommendation

(01:03:50) Advice for his younger self

(01:05:00) Outro

Where to find Anders:

• GitHub: https://github.com/ahejlsberg

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ahejlsberg

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Hejlsberg

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahejlsberg/

Where to find Ryan:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Referenced in this episode:

• Flow type checker repository: https://github.com/facebook/flow

• TypeScript compiler repository: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript

• Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs (book): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithms_%2B_Data_Structures_%3D_Programs

• TypeScript native rewrite: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/typescript/announcing-typescript-7-0/