How to Use TypeScript Signals with Temporal: A Tutorial

Let’s talk about something that we all face during development: API Testing with Postman for your Development Team.

Yeah, I’ve heard of it as well, Postman is getting worse year by year, but, you are working as a team and you need some collaboration tools for your development process, right? So you paid Postman Enterprise for…. $49/month.

Now I am telling you: You Don’t Have to:

That’s right, APIDog gives you all the features that comes with Postman paid version, at a fraction of the cost. Migration has been so easily that you only need to click a few buttons, and APIDog will do everything for you.

How to Migrate Postman Collections/Environments to Apidog

APIDog has a comprehensive, easy to use GUI that makes you spend no time to get started working (If you have migrated from Postman). It’s elegant, collaborate, easy to use, with Dark Mode too!

Want a Good Alternative to Postman? APIDog is definitely worth a shot. But if you are the Tech Lead of a Dev Team that really want to dump Postman for something Better, and Cheaper, Check out APIDog!

Apidog An integrated platform for API design, debugging, development, mock, and testing

Understanding TypeScript and Temporal

TypeScript is a strongly typed superset of JavaScript that offers static type checking at compile time. Designed for large applications and teams, it allows developers to leverage powerful features like interfaces, generics, and namespaces, enabling better organization of code and improved collaboration across project stakeholders.

Temporal, on the other hand, is an API for working with date and time in JavaScript, aiming to solve common problems faced with the native Date object in a more flexible and robust way. It introduces a number of new classes, such as Temporal.PlainDate, Temporal.PlainTime, and Temporal.PlainDateTime, which allow for a more intuitive manipulation of dates and times. When used together, TypeScript and Temporal provide a comprehensive and structured approach to date and time handling in complex applications.

Core Concepts of Temporal

To effectively utilize Temporal, one must understand its primary components:

1. Temporal.PlainDate: Represents a date without time zone or time information.
2. Temporal.PlainTime: Represents a time without date or time zone information.
3. Temporal.PlainDateTime: Combines both date and time without time zone.
4. Temporal.ZonedDateTime: Represents a specific instant in time in a specific time zone.
5. Temporal.Duration: Represents a duration of time, which can involve years, months, days, and more.
6. Temporal.TimeZone: Represents a time zone.

These components are essential for managing complex date and time-related functionality in applications, such as scheduling, reminders, and more.

Installation and Setup

To begin using Temporal in a TypeScript project, you will need to install the @js-temporal/polyfill package since the Temporal API was still in proposal stage at the time of my last knowledge update. This package provides a polyfill for environments that do not fully support Temporal natively.

npm install @js-temporal/polyfill

After installation, ensure that your TypeScript configuration (tsconfig.json) supports ES2022 features, as Temporal is an ES2022 proposal.

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

TypeScript and Temporal Basics: Creating Dates

Let’s examine how to create and manipulate dates using Temporal within TypeScript. We will start with the Temporal.PlainDate.

Example 1: Creating a Date

import { Temporal } from '@js-temporal/polyfill';

const date = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2023-10-01');
console.log(date.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-01"

In this example, we import the Temporal library and create a PlainDate instance. We can use a string representation to easily initiate a date. The toString() method outputs the date in the standard format.

Manipulating Dates

Manipulating dates is often necessary for applications involving scheduling and timelines. Using Temporal makes this straightforward.

Example 2: Adding Days to a Date

const date = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2023-10-01');
const newDate = date.add({ days: 10 });
console.log(newDate.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-11"

Here, we add 10 days to the initial date. The add method builds a new PlainDate instance representing the new date. This exemplifies the immutability of Temporal objects, as operations yield new instances rather than mutating existing ones.

Example 3: Finding the Difference Between Dates

Calculating the difference between dates is crucial for many applications, such as insurance claims or project management tools.

const startDate = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2023-10-01');
const endDate = Temporal.PlainDate.from('2023-10-11');
const difference = endDate.since(startDate);

console.log(difference); // Output: { days: 10 }

In this example, we calculate the time span between two dates using the since method, returning an object that specifies the difference.

Handling Time: Creating and Manipulating Times

In addition to handling dates, Temporal allows us to manage time separately, which can be useful when we want to specify time independently of a specific date.

Example 4: Creating a Time

const time = Temporal.PlainTime.from('14:30:00');
console.log(time.toString()); // Output: "14:30:00"

Notably, we can create a time instance using a simple string format.

Example 5: Adding Time Duration

Adding time can be performed in a manner similar to adding days to a date.

const time = Temporal.PlainTime.from('14:30:00');
const newTime = time.add({ hours: 2, minutes: 15 });
console.log(newTime.toString()); // Output: "16:45:00"

This example highlights how to add a duration of hours and minutes to a time instance effectively.

Combining Date and Time: Using PlainDateTime

Often, applications need to manage date and time in tandem. Temporal’s PlainDateTime class allows for this.

Example 6: Creating a DateTime

const dateTime = Temporal.PlainDateTime.from('2023-10-01T14:30:00');
console.log(dateTime.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-01T14:30:00"

Here, we create a PlainDateTime instance, embodying both date and time together.

Working with Durations

Temporal also provides the Duration object to measure and represent durations of time effectively.

Example 7: Using Duration

const duration = Temporal.Duration.from({ days: 5, hours: 3 });
console.log(duration.hours); // Output: 3

With this example, we create a Duration object that combines days and hours, allowing for straightforward access to its properties.

Example 8: Adding Duration to DateTime

Leveraging the Duration object, we can modify PlainDateTime instances effectively.

const dateTime = Temporal.PlainDateTime.from('2023-10-01T14:30:00');
const duration = Temporal.Duration.from({ days: 2, hours: 3 });
const updatedDateTime = dateTime.add(duration);
console.log(updatedDateTime.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-03T17:30:00"

This code snippet demonstrates the power of combining date/time manipulation with duration using Temporal, showcasing how we can create an updated PlainDateTime instance efficiently.

Handling Time Zones with ZonedDateTime

Time zones add another layer of complexity to time and date handling. Temporal provides the ZonedDateTime class to manage this complexity easily.

Example 9: Creating a ZonedDateTime

const zonedDateTime = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from('2023-10-01T14:30:00[America/New_York]');
console.log(zonedDateTime.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-01T14:30:00-04:00[America/New_York]"

This example creates a ZonedDateTime, which encapsulates an instant with time zone information, catering to applications that require precise time localization.

Example 10: Converting Between Time Zones

Converting times based on time zones is often essential for applications serving global audiences.

const zonedDateTime = Temporal.ZonedDateTime.from('2023-10-01T14:30:00[America/New_York]');
const convertedTime = zonedDateTime.withTimeZone('Europe/London');
console.log(convertedTime.toString()); // Output: "2023-10-01T19:30:00+01:00[Europe/London]"

Here, we illustrate how to convert a ZonedDateTime instance to another time zone, demonstrating the ease of time zone handling in Temporal.

Conclusion

The integration of TypeScript and Temporal allows for a robust way to address the complexities of date and time management in modern applications. With clear object representations and intuitive methods to manipulate them, developers can create applications that are not only easier to maintain but also more reliable in their handling of temporal data.

By leveraging the functionalities described throughout this example, one can develop scalable applications that elegantly handle date and time, maintain timezone awareness, and manage durations effectively. TypeScript’s type system coupled with the meticulous handling of Temporal guarantees that both development and maintenance become significantly simpler and straightforward.

Should you require the ability to adapt dates and times in your TypeScript applications, the combination of TypeScript and Temporal provides a powerful answer. The utility of such an API cannot be understated, as it addresses real-world scenarios where accurate date and time calculations are a must.

Let’s talk about something that we all face during development: API Testing with Postman for your Development Team.

Yeah, I’ve heard of it as well, Postman is getting worse year by year, but, you are working as a team and you need some collaboration tools for your development process, right? So you paid Postman Enterprise for…. $49/month.

Now I am telling you: You Don’t Have to:

That’s right, APIDog gives you all the features that comes with Postman paid version, at a fraction of the cost. Migration has been so easily that you only need to click a few buttons, and APIDog will do everything for you.

How to Migrate Postman Collections/Environments to Apidog

APIDog has a comprehensive, easy to use GUI that makes you spend no time to get started working (If you have migrated from Postman). It’s elegant, collaborate, easy to use, with Dark Mode too!

Want a Good Alternative to Postman? APIDog is definitely worth a shot. But if you are the Tech Lead of a Dev Team that really want to dump Postman for something Better, and Cheaper, Check out APIDog!

Apidog An integrated platform for API design, debugging, development, mock, and testing