microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript

Report evolving arrays / evolving variables differently in QuickInfo

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#54,414 9 comments 11 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Experience Enhancement Help Wanted Suggestion
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Description

Suggestion

🔍 Search Terms

evolving array any quickinfo tooltip

✅ Viability Checklist

My suggestion meets these guidelines:

  • This wouldn't be a breaking change in existing TypeScript/JavaScript code
  • This wouldn't change the runtime behavior of existing JavaScript code
  • This could be implemented without emitting different JS based on the types of the expressions
  • This isn't a runtime feature (e.g. library functionality, non-ECMAScript syntax with JavaScript output, new syntax sugar for JS, etc.)
  • This feature would agree with the rest of TypeScript's Design Goals.

⭐ Suggestion

When hovering over an evolving array, we should show the type as something special so that people don't think it's actually any and get mad/confused about it

Proposed
Instead of

const arr = [];
arr
// ?^ any[]

show

const arr = [];
arr
// ?^ (evolving array)

Same for

let a;

📃 Motivating Example

We have many reports both external and internal of people thinking that an evolving array is of type any. This also appears as bug reports where people think that noImplicitAny has a bug in it because it's not reporting one

Recently https://twitter.com/mattpocockuk/status/1662103198910300161

#43752
#45369

💻 Use Cases

Prevent confusion

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing the TypeScript QuickInfo path for evolving arrays and uninitialized variables, then review the related discussions in issues #43752 and #45369. Done means hover information distinguishes evolving arrays and evolving variables from ordinary any types without changing runtime behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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