Cardano blockchain was built using Haskell functional programming language
Founder of Cardan Charles Hoskinson shared “the very first untyped Plutus Core program fully generated and serialized using only Typescript”. This new milestone could imply that developers may be able to write smart contracts on Cardano using TypeScript in the near future.
TypeScript is a programming language created and maintained by Microsoft that is based on JavaScript. It is a rigorous superset of JavaScript in terms of syntax and gives the language optional static typing. It is made for the creation of large apps as it claims to provide better tooling at any scale.
The Cardano blockchain was built using the Haskell functional programming language. Plutus, Cardano’s programming language for smart contracts, and Marlowe, Cardano’s domain-specific language for financial smart contracts, are both based on Haskell. The off-chain and on-chain codes for Cardano are also written in Haskell.
Haskell is not the best-known programming language, though; that distinction belongs to Python and Java. Cardano justifies its decision to use Haskell by pointing out that it is ideal to write code that is robust and correct, especially when combined with formal methods.
Project proposal still in its infancy
According Michele Harmonicthe Plutus project aims to enable the creation of smart contracts and transactions using only TypeScript, allowing developers to build decentralized applications while retaining the benefits of Cardano smart contracts.
He explains that right now, only the Haskell programming language is used to generate smart contracts, which limits their potential for use in situations where they must be created instantly. The proposed Plu-ts would allow developers to write Cardano-related, on-chain and off-chain code entirely in TypeScript. Without the requirement for a server, it would be feasible to create smart contracts depending on user inputs.
However, it is unclear if Cardano will drop its proclaimed programming language Haskell for TypeScript.
