capypad
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typescript / beginner
Snippet

The unknown Type

The unknown type is a safer alternative to any. It forces you to perform a type check before you can access properties or methods on the value, preventing runtime errors.

snippet.ts
typescript
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let input: unknown = "Hello";
if (typeof input === "string") {
let len: number = input.length;
}
Breakdown
1
let input: unknown = "Hello";
Declares a variable with the unknown type, meaning its specific type is not yet confirmed.
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if (typeof input === "string") {
Uses a type guard to check if the value is actually a string at runtime.
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let len: number = input.length;
Safely accesses the length property now that the compiler knows the variable is a string.