microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript
Suggestion: Allow ES6 export syntax in namespaces
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Description
TypeScript Version: typescript@4.0.0-dev.20200801
Search Terms: namespace, import, export, re-export, module
Code
import { Point } from "./Point";
export type Line = {
readonly p1: Point;
readonly p2: Point;
readonly points?: readonly [Point, ...(readonly Point[])];
};
export namespace Line {
export { Point } from "~/Point"; // TS says "Export declarations are not permitted in a namespace"
// `export { Point };` <-- Should also work.
}
type LinePoint = Line.Point;
// ^ Somehow this actually works, i.e. `LinePoint` equals `Point`
Expected behavior:
Exporting from a namespace should mirror ES6 module exports, i.e. export { X }, export { X } from "...", and export * as NS from "..."
The lack of syntax for re-exports makes it very hard to use namespace/type/function merging abilities to represent nice APIs. Here's an example of what a module could look like if this was allowed...
// User.tsx
import { Admin } from "./Admin";
import { Member } from "./Member";
export type User = Admin | Member;
export type Props = { readonly user: User; };
export function User({ user }: Props) {
return Admin.isAdmin(user) ? <Admin admin={user} /> : <Member member={user} />;
}
export namespace User {
export { Admin, Member }; // Nice.
export const isAuthenticated = (user: User): boolean => true;
}
// Home.tsx
import { User } from "./User";
export function Home({ user }: User.Props) {
return <User.Admin admin={useAdmin()} />; // An example of what this enables.
}
Actual behavior:
TypeScript says "Export declarations are not permitted in a namespace," even though it actually respects the export declaration outside of the namespace.
Playground Link:
https://www.typescriptlang.org/play/#code/HYQwtgpgzgDiDGEAEBBJBvAUEnSIA8YB7AJwBcl4jgoKQkBeJAIhGaRCkutoG5MAvpkyhIsBMgBCGbLgLFyGVEgH8hmKjQr5GSSQDoU+kLyA
Related Issues:
https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/20273
This issue showcases some of the syntax gymnastics needed to get around this issue.
https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/4529
https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/4529#issuecomment-140932811
More examples of verbose workarounds.
https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/38041#issuecomment-616807133
@rbuckton Provides a nice example of what this could look like if enabled.
https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/38041#issuecomment-662142857
My comment with another motivating example after the issue was closed.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reviewing the linked Playground example and the related issues 20273, 4529, and 38041 to understand the proposed namespace export forms and existing workarounds. Done would mean supporting export { X }, export { X } from "...", and export * as NS from "..." inside namespaces without the current diagnostic.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript
- Domain
- compilers
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 30/100