[Feature request] sort literals in .d.ts

Search Terms

Suggestion

sort string literal in .d.ts

Use Cases

avoid string literal random change order when source code didn’t change and make code history is more easy read

in this issue thread string literal is mean => "a" | "c" | "b"

this not only happen on Record, it has chance happen at all type is auto create by typescript emit with string literal

Examples

"a" | "c" | "b" is create by typesctipt emit and some time will random change order

• https://github.com/bluelovers/cjk-convert/blob/1a0ba9f85e0bf7fe916158cc14a4ef87507106d9/lib/zh/table/table.ts#L1619-L1635
• https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/30328
  • https://github.com/bluelovers/novel-travis-test/commit/3b88745e187736797d9a30d4f4bbd927b0c6dd30#diff-3006c96d8657ccca5b9b3618a256314c
  • https://github.com/bluelovers/novel-travis-test/commit/d33c4a61602a8536d1414d36e027eb99845104f1#diff-3006c96d8657ccca5b9b3618a256314c
  • https://github.com/bluelovers/novel-travis-test/commit/2d749195c39ef386e6c4bad1ae6e19d007c03e93#diff-3006c96d8657ccca5b9b3618a256314c

current .d.ts output

---

export declare const table_plus: Record<"a" | "c" | "b">
// "a" | "c" | "b" is random change order

in this request

sort ( use simple array.sort() ) it when output emit at .d.ts

export declare const table_plus: Record<"a" | "b" | "c">

Checklist

My suggestion meets these guidelines:

• This wouldn’t be a breaking change in existing TypeScript/JavaScript code
• This wouldn’t change the runtime behavior of existing JavaScript code
• This could be implemented without emitting different JS based on the types of the expressions
• This isn’t a runtime feature (e.g. library functionality, non-ECMAScript syntax with JavaScript output, etc.)
• This feature would agree with the rest of TypeScript’s Design Goals.

Maintainer’s note [@sandersn]: To implementers: When you implement this, be sure to sort other literal types too. Consider sorting other things, like symbol, by the order of their string representation.

[sandersn]

@fatcerberus This is just requesting that d.ts emit sorts the union right before printing it. It wouldn’t affect the checker itself. Should be fine, except for evil corner cases like the UnionToTuple type, which manage to export the internal ordering into another type.

@AnyhowStep but then it would be the last time???

[AnyhowStep]

Oh, right. I hecked up.