
Office 365 is being completely rewritten in JavaScript - pmontra
https://mobile.twitter.com/TheLarkInn/status/1006746626617008128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Freact-etc.net%2Fentry%2Fmicrosoft-office-rewrite-to-react-js-nears-completion
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evv
Previous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17300893](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17300893)

~~~
TAForObvReasons
Given that both are linking to the same tweet, maybe HN's de-dupe algorithm
should check tweet links

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spankalee
Here's a pretty critical clarification:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8qqhlz/comment...](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8qqhlz/comment/e0ll1dt/)

\----

Hi there!!! Original Tweeter here! I'm Sean and I'm a Program Manager at
Microsoft working on Microsoft Edge and Edge Dev Tools!

Going to clarify across a few things. Some was lack of more then 280 chars in
a tweet and not expecting this to get beyond #JavaScript twitter.

MS Teams, VS Code, is already written _with_ TypeScript which is compiled to
JavaScript powered by Electron. It is an electron application. VS Code is on
GitHub and Open Source if you'd like to see examples of how or what.

We are not abandoning C++, C#, or any of the other awesome languages, apis,
and toolings that we use across Microsoft. EdgeHTML is almost entirely written
in C++ like any other browser engine. However we do also run JavaScript
(compiled from TypeScript) in DevTools, and leverage open source technologies
like React and webpack to build the UI's for them.

Office 365's UI, a lot of it, but definitely not all of it, are pieces that
are built using React Native (Windows). API's and Services are still going to
be powered by C++, C#, or whatever is the most appropriate for that team.
Nothing is converting to "all/completely" JavaScript/TypeScript.

React Native compiling JavaScript to "native code" is arguably wrong. Most of
what is native are API's interactions and Native Modules that can be
communicated with through JavaScript. WebViews power UI rendering thanks to
React. Thanks to the Skype Engineer who sniped me on that in discussion.

Feel free to ask anything else! It's the least I can do for tweeting some
pretty unclear messaging.

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bla2
From the discussion from 2 days ago: "Hi there, original tweeter here. Just to
clarify: no one said when this work would land, simply that we are working on
it! Sorry to disappoint"
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17300893](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17300893)

~~~
hungerstrike
And then yesterday we got an article called “Microsoft Office rewrite in
React.js nears completion” qouting a tweet that said “All of Office 365 is
(almost finished) being completely rewritten in this little scripting language
called #JavaScript.” -
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17310738](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17310738)

But I don’t know who Sean Thomas Larkin is, the author of the tweet.

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coding123
I wonder if they are re-writing Clippy in Tensorflow

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PaulHoule
Insane.

Google Docs hasn't had a real upgrade since 2005 because they are stuck in
callback hell and don't know how to do maintenance on the code.

~~~
carlosrg
>Google Docs hasn't had a real upgrade since 2005 because they are stuck in
callback hell

And we have to believe you on that because... ?

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stmw
Many Microsoft apps were developed in various forms of "pcode" since before
Javascript or Java even exists, it's a well established part of the Microsoft
way. The fact that the latest iteration involves javascript is interesting but
is just an evolution, not a shift away from C++ or anything of the sort.

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ggcdn
Excel macros in typescript please!

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nereye
Please see:

[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-
ins/excel/cu...](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-
ins/excel/custom-functions-overview)

[https://github.com/OfficeDev/script-
lab/](https://github.com/OfficeDev/script-lab/)

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cosinetau
That tweet is taking a beating.

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kristaps
Pure JavaScript or MSs very own TypeScipt? The latter sounds much more
feasible.

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coding123
Well they mentioned VSCode which is Typescript, so my guess it's typescript.
(MS also typically eat's their own dogfood)

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seba_dos1
This again?... We've had plenty of those in last few days, debunked all over
again.

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NinaJZapala
Finally! Maybe it will be more intuitive.

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donatj
I can't think of a single instance of using an SPA or Electron app and thought
"this feels really intuitive".

It's usually more "this feels slow, unreliable, and does things I don't
expect".

~~~
kitsunesoba
Electron apps do tend to feel like their development is driven by bored
designers who want to reinvent the wheel for the 5 millionth time and almost
always favor form over function.

Don’t get me wrong, I prefer to use apps that look and feel great, but that
shouldn’t ever come at the cost of functionality, responsiveness, etc. It’s a
great example of where what benefits companies and what benefits users differs
considerably (stable, functional, lightweight app vs. strong branding and
cheap engineers).

