33 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
33 lines
1.4 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
tags:
|
|
- typescript
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Any
|
|
|
|
`any` is a TS-specific type that we can think of it as a higher level parent to
|
|
all the other types that exist in TypeScript.
|
|
|
|
It means in effect that either no type declaration has been asserted or that the
|
|
TS compiler cannot infer the type that you mean. Because `any` does not have a
|
|
data type it is equivalent to all the individual scalar and reference types
|
|
combined. In TS this kind of type is called a **supertype**, and specific types
|
|
that actually correspond to a scalar or reference type are known as
|
|
**subtypes**. `any`is the supertype of all types and `string` for example is a
|
|
subtype of `any`.
|
|
|
|
> Every value of `string` can be assigned to its supertype`any` but not every
|
|
> value of `any` can be assigned to its subtype `string`
|
|
|
|
You can declare `any` as a type if you wish however it is discouraged because it
|
|
effectively undermines the whole purpose of TS. Doing so is basically the same
|
|
thing as declaring a value in normal JS - there is no designation at left hand
|
|
assignation of which type the data belongs to.
|
|
|
|
> `any` reflects JavaScript's overarching flexibility; you can see it as a
|
|
> backdoor to a world where you want neither tooling nor type safety.
|
|
|
|
`any` means you can escape errors during development. If you are using custom
|
|
types/interfaces and you keep getting an annoying error saying that property X
|
|
doesn't exist on type,, `any` will allow you to overcome it until you go back
|
|
later and refine.
|