TypeScript or JavaScript type casting

This is called type assertion in TypeScript, and since TypeScript 1.6, there are two ways to express this:

// Original syntax
var markerSymbolInfo = <MarkerSymbolInfo> symbolInfo;

// Newer additional syntax
var markerSymbolInfo = symbolInfo as MarkerSymbolInfo;

Both alternatives are functionally identical. The reason for introducing the as-syntax is that the original syntax conflicts with JSX, see the design discussion here.

If you are in a position to choose, just use the syntax that you feel more comfortable with. I personally prefer the as-syntax as it feels more fluent to read and write.


You can cast like this:

return this.createMarkerStyle(<MarkerSymbolInfo> symbolInfo);

Or like this if you want to be compatible with tsx mode:

return this.createMarkerStyle(symbolInfo as MarkerSymbolInfo);

Just remember that this is a compile-time cast, and not a runtime cast.