Comparison with native string enums (TypeScript 2.4)

[benny-medflyt]

TypeScript 2.4 will introduce native string enums

https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/wiki/What's-new-in-TypeScript#string-enums

Will this library be obsolete? If not, what are the pros/cons of this library versus TypeScript 2.4 native string enums?

thank you

[dphilipson]

Hi Benny,

I do think this library will be unnecessary for most people who are on 2.4. There are still a few reasons users may still prefer to use this library.

• This library provides several helper functions which cannot easy be implemented for native enums. Of these, I would expect Enum.isType to be the most useful. (At least, I don't see an obvious way to implement the helper functions. I will play with it upon release).
• Defining a native string enum involves a bit of repetition, as each value must be written twice:

  enum Color {
      RED = "RED",
      GREEN = "GREEN",
      BLUE = "BLUE"
  }

  vs

  const Color = Enum("RED", "GREEN", "BLUE");
  type Color = Enum<typeof Color>;

  If there are many values, it may be desirable to avoid the repetition and corresponding possibility for typos.

When 2.4 is released, I will add a note to the intro of the readme suggesting that users migrate to native enums and providing a link to this reasoning.

[benny-medflyt]

Awesome answer, thank you!

[dphilipson]

TypeScript 2.4 released today, so as promised, the notes from above have been added to the README.