TypeScript Type Safety: Exploring Overloads & Conditional Types
Delving into TypeScript function overloads, union types, and common challenges in search for type safety
In this blog post, we will discuss slightly advanced TypeScript features such as union types, generics, and conditional types. We will explore how these features interact when attempting to create type-safe function overloads, a common challenge faced by developers using TypeScript.
This post was originally notes from an impromptu presentation I gave during a work "lunch and learn" session a couple of years ago. I've noticed that many people find this area of TypeScript to be frustrating as they try to combine different language features, often ending up confused. Let's dive in and learn how to avoid some common pitfalls.
Some prerequisites
Before we jump in, let's have a quick refresher on three TypeScript features: union types, generics, and conditional types. Feel free to skip if you're already familiar with these concepts.
Union types
Union types in TypeScript allow you to define a type that can be one of several types.
interface Yan {
tan: string;
}
type T1 = "tan" | Yan;
type Tethera = { type: "yan"; value: string } | { type: "tan"; value2: number };
declare const t: Tethera;
// using control flow narrowing to access the correct fields
if (t.type === "yan") {
t.value.toLowerCase(); // ok
t.value2.toString(); // compile-time type error - property 'value2' does not exist on type '{ type: "yan"; value: string; }'
}
In the example above, T1 is a union type that can either be a string "tan"
or an object of type Yan. The Tethera type is a union of two different
object shapes, distinguished by their common type property. These are
typically called discriminated unions in TypeScript, and elsewhere might be
called tagged unions, disjoint unions, or sum types. TypeScript uses the
language's control flow constructs to "narrow" union types, as demonstrated with
the value t above.
Generics
Generics in TypeScript provide a way to define reusable code that can work with multiple types. They allow you to create functions that can operate on those different types while preserving type information of the inputs in its outputs.
function map<T, U>(type: T[], callback: (t: T) => U): U[] {
return type.map(callback);
}
const yan = map([2, ""], (value) => value.toString());
// ^? const yan: string[]
In this example, the map function takes an array of type T and a callback
that maps elements of type T to a different type U. The result is an array
of type U.
Conditional Types
Conditional types in TypeScript allow you to create new types based on conditions. They are a powerful way to express complex type relationships by giving you a form of control flow in type level expressions of the language.
type T2 = 123 extends number ? true : false;
// ^? type T2 = true
type T3 = "1" extends 1 ? true : false;
// ^? type T3 = true
// a type level function that takes a single type as an argument and returns either the type `true` or the type `false`
type Printable<T> = T extends string ? true : false;
type T4 = Printable<{ bar: string }>;
// ^? type T4 = false
In this example, T2 is a conditional type that evaluates to true because 123
extends number, and T3 evaluates to false because a string "1" does not
extend number. T4 evaluates to false because the object type
{bar: string} does not extend string. The Printable type is effectively a
type level function that takes a single type as an argument and returns another
type.
TypeScript function overloads are not type safe
TypeScript supports a form of overloaded functions, which is a common feature in many languages that allows you to implement multiple related functions with a common name. When you attempt to use that name to call a function, the implementation that gets selected is usually determined by the type and arity of arguments you provide.
Below is an example from Java of a overloaded method called addToken. It has
two implementations, one that takes a single argument and another that takes
two. Depending upon the arity of the arguments used to call it, one of the two
implementations is used. The convenience of this feature is that it groups
implementations that conceptually do the same thing, and saves defining separate
names like addToken and addTokenWithLiteral for all of the possible
variants:
class Scanner {
// ...
// This implementation takes a single argument of type `TokenType`
private void addToken(TokenType type) {
// ...
}
// This implementation takes two arguments of type `TokenType` and `Object`
private void addToken(TokenType type, Object literal) {
// ...
}
private void scanToken() {
// ...
switch (c) {
case '(':
// This calls the first implementation
addToken(TokenType.LEFT_PAREN);
break;
// ...
}
// ...
}
private void string() {
// ...
// This calls the second implementation
addToken(TokenType.STRING, value);
// ...
}
}
JavaScript does not have function overloads in the sense that Java does, and by extension TypeScript also lacks function overloads in the conventional sense. However, it is quite common in JavaScript APIs to have functions that can take a wild variety of types and arity of arguments. So what TypeScript allows for is overloading function signatures, but with a single implementation:
function addToken(token: TokenType): void;
function addToken(token: TokenType, literal: any): void;
function addToken(token: TokenType, literal?: any): void {
// ...
}
With TypeScript function overloads, we define multiple signatures, but only implement a single function that must be compatible with all of the non-implementing signatures. A frustration with this form of overloads is that the type checker only enforces the signature of the implementing function, and does not enforce that the implementing function satisfies all of the overloads. In short, function overloads are not type safe. They were designed primarily to help describe existing behavior of JavaScript APIs rather than help you implement new ones.
For example, below has an implementing function that will fail to return the correct value as indicated by the overload signatures. TypeScript will select the second signature overload, but the implementing function will return the wrong data type resulting in a runtime type error.
// here we have two overloaded function signatures
function yan(tan: string, tethera: number): string;
function yan(tan: number, tethera: string): number;
// the implementation signature must handle both cases from above, however, the return type of the implementation is not checked against the signatures above
function yan(tan: string | number, tethera: string | number): string | number {
// This implementating function body always returns a string, which is incorrect for the second overload signature
return "";
}
// When using the 'yan' function with these arugments TypeScript will select the second overload signature
const num = yan(0, ""); // Expected return type: number
num.toFixed(0); // Runtime error: toFixed is not a function
Can we create our own type-safe function overloads?
TypeScript function overloads are somewhat disappointing because the type checker does not actually check our work. But is it possible to create a function signature that does check our work? After surveying the features of unions and control flow based narrowing, conditional types, and generics, many users of the language construct something along these lines:
// This is a type level function and a conditional type that maps a string literal to a corresponding type
type PrimitiveMap<T extends "yan" | "tan"> = T extends "yan" ? string : number;
// This generic function accepts a string literal as an input and returns the corresponding mapped from our function `PrimativeMap`
declare function getValue<T extends "yan" | "tan">(key: T): PrimitiveMap<T>;
const stringValue = getValue("yan"); // Expected return type: string
const numberValue = getValue("tan"); // Expected return type: number
Well this looks very promising! If you inspect the values of stringValue and
numberValue we get completely different return types from the same
function depending upon the input value, and they all appear to be correct. This
looks a lot like function overloading!
As with the previous examples, we have a single implementing function. However,
this function takes a single argument T that is a generic with the constraint
of "yan" | "tan". That generic value is passed into to a type level function
called PrimitiveMap as the return type of the function. This conditional type
will pick the appropriately matching return type given the input argument. It
would appear that we have successfully recreated typescript function overloading
using other features of the language.
This is the point of frustration for users because when they turn to
implementing the function, they find that they cannot implement its body. The
only way we could implement the body of getAction is if we assert that the
return value is PrimitiveMap<T>. Asserting this defeats the entire
purpose of this exercise, which was to create a type-safe overload.
// Now we attempt to implement the getValue function
function getValueImplementation<T extends "yan" | "tan">(key: T): PrimitiveMap<T> {
if (key === "yan") {
const yanValue: string = "Yan value";
return yanValue; // Type 'string' is not assignable to type 'PrimitiveMap<T>'
}
if (key === "tan") {
const tanValue: number = 42;
return tanValue; // Type 'number' is not assignable to type 'PrimitiveMap<T>'
}
throw new Error("Not implemented");
}
The stumbling block here is that in the presence of generic types, the
evaluation of conditional types is deferred until the generic value is resolved.
The conditional return type of getValueImplementation will only be evaluated when the
function is called.
In TypeScript you cannot evaluate a conditional type level function like
PrimitiveMap if you give it a generic argument because of this fact. A
simple illustration of this limitation can be seen below. Despite the fact that
T has a constraint that it extends string, the conditional type remains
unevaluated within the body of the function tan because T is a generic type.
type A = string extends string ? true : false;
// ^? type A = true
function tan<T extends string>(_: T) {
type B = T extends string ? true : false;
// ^? type B = T extends string ? true : false;
}
So what can we do?
In both the built-in function overloads and our experimentation with combining other language features, we have failed to achieve type-safe overloading function bodies. In both cases, we were successfully able to create APIs that might be desirable for consumers but left implementers without assistance.
The lesson I hope you take away is that if you went down this path, you aren't alone. Many others thought it might be possible to combine these features, but the language as it stands today does not enable this pattern. However, this shouldn't discourage you from seeking alternative solutions. So, as some parting words, I can suggest some advice for moving forward.
Solution 1: Implement separate functions
Take a step back. Reconsider the problem the Java case was trying to solve. They had separate implementations with a common name, which isn't a feature of JavaScript. As I suggested earlier, the alternative in the Java case is to simply have different names for each implementation. So the solution is staring right at us. Have separately named function implementations for each of your "overloads."
function createYan(): Yan {
//...
}
function createTan(): Tan {
//...
}
Solution 2: Sacrifice type safety
If you are, say, a library author, it might be nice to have overloading function signatures to give your users a pleasant API to use. Here, the advice would be to accept that you will have to do extra work to ensure that you are satisfying overloaded signatures. This is a corner of the language where you aren't going to get much help, but it might be a worthwhile sacrifice for your users.
What I would urge you to consider is to experiment with finding the right balance between type safety and a user-friendly API. You will always find language limitations for what you are trying to do, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can't find compromises or workaround.