WHAT TO KNOWLet's Make a TLDR System In TypeScript (Part 1)
In the age of information overload, it's harder than ever to consume and understand the vast amounts of content we're bombarded with daily. We crave quick summaries, concise overviews, and efficient ways to grasp the essence of complex topics. Enter the concept of "TLDR" - a universally understood acronym for "Too Long; Didn't Read." In this series, we'll embark on a journey to build a TLDR system using TypeScript, a powerful language ideal for creating robust and scalable applications.
Why TypeScript for a TLDR System?
TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript, provides several compelling reasons for building our TLDR system:
- Strong Typing: TypeScript enforces type safety, ensuring code consistency and catching errors early in development. This is particularly valuable when dealing with complex data structures and relationships within a TLDR system.
- Object-Oriented Features: TypeScript supports classes, interfaces, and inheritance, allowing us to model our system effectively, manage complex interactions, and reuse code efficiently.
- Scalability: TypeScript's strong typing and modularity make it suitable for building large and intricate applications, ensuring maintainability as our TLDR system grows.
- JavaScript Compatibility: TypeScript compiles to plain JavaScript, ensuring seamless integration with existing JavaScript codebases and libraries.
Part 1: Setting Up the Foundation
In this initial part, we'll lay the groundwork for our TLDR system. We'll focus on defining the essential core components and establishing the basic structure that will guide our development process. Let's dive in:
1. Project Setup
Start by creating a new TypeScript project using your preferred method. For this tutorial, we'll use the **npm** package manager. Open your terminal and execute the following commands:
mkdir tldr-system
cd tldr-system
npm init -y
npm install typescript @types/node
This creates a new directory, initializes an empty `package.json` file, and installs the necessary packages: `typescript` for compilation and `@types/node` for Node.js type definitions.
2. Creating the `tsconfig.json` File
The `tsconfig.json` file acts as the configuration center for our TypeScript project. Create this file in the root directory of your project and add the following content:
{
"compilerOptions": {
"target": "es5", // Target JavaScript version
"module": "commonjs", // Module system
"outDir": "dist", // Output directory
"esModuleInterop": true, // Enable ES module interop
"forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true, // Enforce consistent casing
"strict": true, // Enable strict type checking
"noImplicitAny": true, // Disallow implicit any types
"strictNullChecks": true, // Enable strict null checks
"noUnusedLocals": true, // Disallow unused local variables
"noUnusedParameters": true, // Disallow unused parameters
"skipLibCheck": true // Skip type checking of declaration files
},
"include": [
"src/**/*"
]
}
This configuration specifies the target JavaScript version, module system, output directory, and various compiler options for strict type checking and code quality.
3. Creating the `src` Directory
Within your project, create a directory named `src`. This will house all the source code for our TLDR system. Inside this directory, create a file named `index.ts`.
4. Defining the Core Components
Now, let's define the core components that will form the foundation of our TLDR system:
4.1. The Article Interface
interface Article {
title: string;
content: string;
author?: string;
date?: Date;
url?: string;
}
This interface represents a generic article structure, capturing essential information such as title, content, author, date, and URL. The `?` indicates optional properties.
4.2. The TLDR Interface
interface TLDR {
summary: string;
keyPoints: string[];
}
The `TLDR` interface defines the structure of our generated summary, containing a concise summary text and an array of key points extracted from the original article.
4.3. The TLDRGenerator Interface
interface TLDRGenerator {
generateTLDR(article: Article): Promise
<tldr>
;
}
This interface outlines the contract for a TLDR generator class. It defines a single method, generateTLDR, which takes an Article object and returns a Promise that resolves to a TLDR object.
- Building the
BasicTLDRGenerator
BasicTLDRGenerator
Let's create a simple BasicTLDRGenerator class that implements the TLDRGenerator interface and provides a basic implementation for summarizing articles. We'll start with a naive approach that truncates the article content and extracts key points using simple heuristics.
class BasicTLDRGenerator implements TLDRGenerator {
async generateTLDR(article: Article): Promise
<tldr>
{
const { title, content } = article;
const summary = this.truncateContent(content, 200); // Truncate to 200 characters
const keyPoints = this.extractKeyPoints(content);
return {
summary,
keyPoints,
};
}
private truncateContent(content: string, maxLength: number): string {
if (content.length > maxLength) {
return content.substring(0, maxLength) + "...";
}
return content;
}
private extractKeyPoints(content: string): string[] {
// Simple heuristics for extracting key points
const sentences = content.split(".");
const keyPoints = sentences.filter((sentence) => sentence.length > 50); // Filter sentences longer than 50 characters
return keyPoints;
}
}
This basic implementation provides a rudimentary way to generate summaries. It truncates the article content and extracts sentences longer than 50 characters as key points. We'll refine this approach in subsequent parts of this series.
- Testing Our TLDR System
Let's add a simple test to verify that our system works as expected. Create a file named index.test.ts in the src directory and add the following code:
import { BasicTLDRGenerator } from "./index";
const testArticle: Article = {
title: "How to Build a TLDR System in TypeScript",
content: "This is a test article about building a TLDR system in TypeScript. We will cover the core concepts, techniques, and tools involved in building a TLDR system. It's going to be a great journey! Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed non risus. Suspendisse lectus tortor, dignissim sit amet, adipiscing nec, ultricies sed, dolor. Cras elementum ultrices diam. Maecenas ligula massa, varius a, semper congue, euismod non, mi.",
author: "John Doe",
};
describe("BasicTLDRGenerator", () => {
it("should generate a TLDR for an article", async () => {
const tldrGenerator = new BasicTLDRGenerator();
const tldr = await tldrGenerator.generateTLDR(testArticle);
expect(tldr.summary).toBeDefined();
expect(tldr.keyPoints).toBeDefined();
});
});
This test creates a sample Article object, initializes a BasicTLDRGenerator, and calls the generateTLDR method. It then checks if the returned TLDR object contains a summary and key points.
- Running the Tests
To run the tests, we need to install Jest, a popular JavaScript testing framework. In your terminal, execute:
npm install --save-dev jest @types/jest
Then, add the following scripts to your package.json file:
{
"scripts": {
"test": "jest",
"build": "tsc"
}
}
Now, you can run the tests using the command:
npm run test
This will execute the tests and provide a report of the results.
Conclusion
In this first part, we've successfully laid the foundation for our TLDR system. We've defined the core components, including interfaces for Article, TLDR, and TLDRGenerator, and implemented a basic BasicTLDRGenerator class. We've also set up a testing environment using Jest to ensure the correctness of our implementation.
This is just the beginning of our journey. In subsequent parts, we'll explore more advanced techniques for generating accurate and engaging TLDR summaries, implement various summarization algorithms, and delve into the use of machine learning to enhance our system's capabilities. Stay tuned for the next exciting installments of this series!
