Ignore Regions of code in compiler

[mbeckenbach]

Sometimes i use minified script snippets like AppInsights (code snippet is generated by the azure portal), that creates a class in windows.whatever.

Typescript compiler then complains about unknown things on window.
Code would work great if the compiler did not complain.

It costs lots of time finding a workarround. So creating something simple like regions of code that the compiler should ignore and just copy would be cool. Could be some easy syntax like he IF DEBUG flags in C#.

[mhegazy]

The C# conditional compilation flags does not make the compiler copy the code, it ignores it totally if "Debug" is not defined.

Why not just include these in a js file, that you do not pass to the compiler, and include in with you output, either through concatenation or through including it in the html file of your application?

[danquirk]

This is essentially a use case for #449 is it not?

[brianharwell]

I ran into the same issue with App Insights. My thought was instead of having conditional compilation flags, why not specify a region that TypeScript should ignore? Supposedly valid javascript is valid TypeScript but if you try using the App Insights code in an Angular service that is not the case.

What I would like is a #region directive or something that tells the TypeScript compiler to completely ignore the code.

[mhegazy]

Can u share a sample of the issues u are running into?

[brianharwell]

Sure, take for example the application insights code...

function initialize(key) {
            appInsights = window.appInsights || function (config) {
                function r(config) {
                    t[config] = function () {
                        var i = arguments;
                        t.queue.push(function () { t[config].apply(t, i) });
                    }
                }

                var t = { config: config }, u = document, e = window, o = 'script', s = u.createElement(o), i, f;
                for (s.src = config.url || '//az416426.vo.msecnd.net/scripts/a/ai.0.js', u.getElementsByTagName(o)[0].parentNode.appendChild(s), t.cookie = u.cookie, t.queue = [], i = ['Event', 'Exception', 'Metric', 'PageView', 'Trace']; i.length;) r('track' + i.pop());
                return r('setAuthenticatedUserContext'), r('clearAuthenticatedUserContext'), config.disableExceptionTracking || (i = 'onerror', r('_' + i), f = e[i], e[i] = function (config, r, u, e, o) {
                    var s = f && f(config, r, u, e, o);
                    return s !== !0 && t['_' + i](config, r, u, e, o), s
                }), t;
            }({
                instrumentationKey: 'my guid'
            });

If you take that code and put it in a .ts file compilation will fail. It would be cool if I could do something like...

#region exclude

some js code

#end region

[mhegazy]

looks like you need to define appInsights on Window, something like:

interface Window { 
    appInsights: any;
}
declare var appInsights: typeof window.appInsights;

[mhegazy]

The other option is to leave your non-ts code in a .js file, and include that in your code using --allowjs.

[brianharwell]

I want to include this logic in an Angular service. The window line isn't the problem. The issue is with one of the array indexers. Having a way to exclude a part of a TS file because I don't want the TS compiler to check it would be a nice to have.

[mhegazy]

My recommendation here is either 1. use any as a type annotation for parts you do not care about, either for the Window.appInsights or for t, u and e above, and that should stop the errors. or 2. put all non-TS code in a set of a JS helper functions in a .js file, and call into these from your ts file.

I do not think we have plans to support exclude regions or preprocesor directives.