Merge pull request #2403 from odidev/typescr_LP

Deploy TypeScript on Google Cloud C4A (Arm-based Axion VMs)

Author: pareenaverma

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/_index.md

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+---
+title: Deploy TypeScript on Google Cloud C4A (Arm-based Axion VMs)
+
+draft: true
+cascade:
+    draft: true
+    
+minutes_to_complete: 30
+
+who_is_this_for: This learning path is intended for software developers deploying and optimizing TypeScript workloads on Linux/Arm64 environments, specifically using Google Cloud C4A virtual machines powered by Axion processors.
+
+learning_objectives:
+  - Provision an Arm-based SUSE SLES virtual machine on Google Cloud (C4A with Axion processors)
+  - Install TypeScript on a SUSE Arm64 (C4A) instance
+  - Validate TypeScript functionality by creating, compiling, and running a simple TypeScript script on the Arm64 VM
+  - Benchmark TypeScript performance using a JMH-style custom benchmark with perf_hooks on Arm64 (Aarch64) architecture
+
+prerequisites:
+  - A [Google Cloud Platform (GCP)](https://cloud.google.com/free) account with billing enabled
+  - Basic familiarity with [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) and Node.js runtime environment
+
+
+author: Pareena Verma
+
+##### Tags
+skilllevels: Introductory
+subjects: Web
+cloud_service_providers: Google Cloud
+
+armips:
+  - Neoverse
+
+tools_software_languages:
+  - TypeScript
+  - node.js
+  - npm
+  - perf_hooks
+
+operatingsystems:
+  - Linux
+
+# ================================================================================
+#       FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+# ================================================================================
+further_reading:
+  - resource:
+      title: Google Cloud documentation
+      link: https://cloud.google.com/docs
+      type: documentation
+
+  - resource:
+      title: TypeScript documentation
+      link:  https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/
+      type: documentation
+
+  - resource:
+      title: TypeScript Benchmark documentation
+      link: https://tech.spiko.io/posts/benchmarking-typescript-type-checking/
+      type: documentation
+
+weight: 1
+layout: "learningpathall"
+learning_path_main_page: "yes"
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/_next-steps.md

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+---
+# ================================================================================
+#       FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE
+# ================================================================================
+weight: 21                  # Set to always be larger than the content in this path to be at the end of the navigation.
+title: "Next Steps"         # Always the same, html page title.
+layout: "learningpathall"   # All files under learning paths have this same wrapper for Hugo processing.
+---

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/background.md

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+---
+title: Getting started with TypeScript on Google Axion C4A (Arm Neoverse-V2)
+
+weight: 2
+
+layout: "learningpathall"
+---
+
+## Google Axion C4A Arm instances in Google Cloud
+
+Google Axion C4A is a family of Arm-based virtual machines built on Google’s custom Axion CPU, which is based on Arm Neoverse-V2 cores. Designed for high-performance and energy-efficient computing, these virtual machines offer strong performance for modern cloud workloads such as CI/CD pipelines, microservices, media processing, and general-purpose applications.
+
+The C4A series provides a cost-effective alternative to x86 virtual machines while leveraging the scalability and performance benefits of the Arm architecture in Google Cloud.
+
+To learn more about Google Axion, refer to the [Introducing Google Axion Processors, our new Arm-based CPUs](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/compute/introducing-googles-new-arm-based-cpu) blog.
+
+## TypeScript
+
+TypeScript is an open-source, strongly typed programming language developed and maintained by Microsoft.  
+
+It is a superset of JavaScript, which means all valid JavaScript code is also valid TypeScript, but TypeScript adds **static typing, interfaces, and advanced tooling** to help developers write more reliable and maintainable code.  
+
+TypeScript is widely used for **web applications, server-side development (Node.js), and large-scale JavaScript projects** where type safety and code quality are important. Learn more from the [TypeScript official website](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) and its [handbook and documentation](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/).

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/baseline.md

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+---
+title: TypeScript Baseline Testing on Google Axion C4A Arm Virtual Machine
+weight: 5
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+## Baseline Setup for TypeScript
+This guide covers the **baseline setup and testing** of TypeScript on a **Google Axion C4A virtual machine** running SUSE Linux. The objective is to ensure that the TypeScript environment is installed correctly, that basic compilation works, and that a simple TypeScript script can run on the VM.
+
+### Set Up a TypeScript Project
+Before testing, we need a project folder with all necessary TypeScript dependencies.  
+
+**1. Create project folder**
+
+Create a dedicated folder for your TypeScript project:
+
+```console
+mkdir ~/typescript-benchmark
+cd ~/typescript-benchmark
+```
+This ensures all files are organized in one place, separate from system files.
+
+**2. Initialize npm project**
+
+Initialize a Node.js project with default settings:
+
+```console
+npm init -y
+```
+The above command creates a  `package.json` file, which manages your project dependencies and scripts.
+
+**3. Install Node.js type definitions**
+
+These definitions allow TypeScript to understand Node.js APIs, enabling type checking and code autocompletion.
+
+```console
+npm install --save-dev @types/node
+```
+
+You should see output similar to:
+```output
+{
+  "name": "typescript-benchmark",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "main": "index.js",
+  "scripts": {
+    "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
+  },
+  "keywords": [],
+  "author": "",
+  "license": "ISC",
+  "description": ""
+}
+```
+
+### Baseline Testing
+After setting up the project, we perform baseline testing to verify that TypeScript is working correctly on the GCP SUSE VM.
+
+**1. Create a Simple TypeScript File**
+
+Create a file named `hello.ts` with the following content:
+
+```typescript
+const greet = (name: string): string => {
+    return `Hello, ${name}!`;
+};
+
+console.log(greet("GCP SUSE ARM64"));
+```
+This simple function demonstrates TypeScript syntax, type annotations, and basic console output.
+
+**2. Compile TypeScript**
+
+The TypeScript compiler (`tsc`) converts `hello.ts` into `hello.js`, which can be executed by Node.js.
+
+```console
+tsc hello.ts
+```
+
+**3. Run compiled JavaScript**
+
+After compiling the TypeScript file into JavaScript (`hello.js`), you need to execute it using `Node.js`. This step verifies that:
+
+- The TypeScript code was successfully compiled into valid JavaScript.
+- The JavaScript code runs correctly in the Node.js runtime on your GCP SUSE VM.
+
+Execute the compiled JavaScript file:
+
+```console
+node hello.js
+```
+
+You should see output similar to:
+```output
+Hello, GCP SUSE ARM64
+```
+This verifies the basic functionality of the TypeScript installation before proceeding to the benchmarking.

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/benchmarking.md

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+---
+title: TypeScript Benchmarking
+weight: 6
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+
+## JMH-style Custom Benchmarking
+
+This section demonstrates how to **benchmark TypeScript functions** using a JMH-style approach with Node.js `perf_hooks`. Unlike simple `console.time` timing, this method performs **repeated iterations**, calculates the **average execution time**, and provides more **reliable and stable performance measurements** on your Arm64 SUSE VM.
+
+### Create the Benchmark Script
+Create a file named `benchmark_jmh.ts` in your project folder:
+
+```typescript
+import { performance } from 'perf_hooks';
+
+// Function to benchmark
+const sumArray = (n: number) => {
+    let sum = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) sum += i;
+    return sum;
+};
+
+// Benchmark parameters
+const iterations = 10;           // Number of repeated runs
+const arraySize = 1_000_000;     // Size of array
+let totalTime = 0;
+
+// JMH-style repeated runs
+for (let i = 0; i < iterations; i++) {
+    const start = performance.now();
+    sumArray(arraySize);
+    const end = performance.now();
+    const timeTaken = end - start;
+    totalTime += timeTaken;
+    console.log(`Iteration ${i + 1}: ${timeTaken.toFixed(3)} ms`);
+}
+
+// Compute average execution time
+const averageTime = totalTime / iterations;
+console.log(`\nAverage execution time over ${iterations} iterations: ${averageTime.toFixed(3)} ms`);
+```
+
+- **`performance.now()`** → Provides a high-resolution timestamp in milliseconds for precise timing measurements.  
+- **`sumArray`** → A sample CPU-bound function that sums numbers from 0 to `n`.  
+- **`iterations`** → Defines how many times the benchmark should run to stabilize results and minimize random variations.  
+- **`for` loop** → Executes the target function multiple times and records the duration of each run.  
+- **`totalTime / iterations`** → Calculates the **average execution time** across all runs, similar to how **JMH (Java Microbenchmark Harness)** operates in Java.  
+
+This JMH-style benchmarking approach provides **more accurate and repeatable performance metrics** than a single execution, making it ideal for performance testing on Arm-based systems.
+
+### Compile the TypeScript Benchmark
+Compile the TypeScript benchmark file into JavaScript:
+
+```console
+tsc benchmark_jmh.ts
+```
+This generates a `benchmark_jmh.js` file that can be executed by Node.js.
+
+### Run the Benchmark
+Execute the compiled JavaScript file:
+
+```console
+node benchmark_jmh.js
+```
+You should see an output similar to:
+
+```output
+Iteration 1: 2.286 ms
+Iteration 2: 0.749 ms
+Iteration 3: 1.145 ms
+Iteration 4: 0.674 ms
+Iteration 5: 0.671 ms
+Iteration 6: 0.671 ms
+Iteration 7: 0.672 ms
+Iteration 8: 0.667 ms
+Iteration 9: 0.667 ms
+Iteration 10: 0.673 ms
+
+Average execution time over 10 iterations: 0.888 ms
+```
+
+### Benchmark Metrics Explained
+
+- **Iteration times** → Each iteration shows the **time taken for a single execution** of the function being benchmarked.  
+- **Average execution time** → Calculated as the sum of all iteration times divided by the number of iterations. This provides a **stable measure of typical performance**.  
+- **Why multiple iterations?**  
+  - Single-run timing can be inconsistent due to factors such as CPU scheduling, memory allocation, or caching.  
+  - Repeating the benchmark multiple times and averaging reduces variability and gives **more reliable performance results**, similar to Java’s JMH benchmarking approach.  
+**Interpretation:**  
+- The average execution time reflects how efficient the function is under normal conditions.  
+- Initial iterations may take longer due to **initialization overhead**, which is common in Node.js performance tests.  
+
+### Benchmark summary on x86_64
+To compare the benchmark results, the following results were collected by running the same benchmark on a `x86 - c4-standard-4` (4 vCPUs, 15 GB Memory) x86_64 VM in GCP, running SUSE:
+
+| Iteration | 1     | 2     | 3     | 4     | 5     | 6     | 7     | 8     | 9     | 10    | Average |
+|-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|---------|
+| Time (ms) | 3.217 | 0.631 | 0.632 | 0.611 | 0.612 | 0.614 | 0.614 | 0.611 | 0.606 | 0.532 | 0.868   |
+
+### Benchmark summary on Arm64
+Results from the earlier run on the `c4a-standard-4` (4 vCPU, 16 GB memory) Arm64 VM in GCP (SUSE):
+
+| Iteration | 1     | 2     | 3     | 4     | 5     | 6     | 7     | 8     | 9     | 10    | Average |
+|-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|---------|
+| Time (ms) | 2.286 | 0.749 | 1.145 | 0.674 | 0.671 | 0.671 | 0.672 | 0.667 | 0.667 | 0.673 | 0.888   |
+
+### TypeScript performance benchmarking comparison on Arm64 and x86_64
+
+When you compare the benchmarking results, you will notice that on the Google Axion C4A Arm-based instances:
+
+- The average execution time on Arm64 (~0.888 ms) shows that CPU-bound TypeScript operations run efficiently on Arm-based VMs.
+- Initial iterations may show slightly higher times due to runtime warm-up and optimization overhead, which is common across architectures.  
+- Arm64 demonstrates stable iteration times after the first run, indicating consistent performance for repeated workloads.  
+- Compared to typical x86_64 VMs, Arm64 performance is comparable for lightweight TypeScript computations, with potential advantages in power efficiency and cost for cloud deployments.

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/typescript-on-gcp/images/gcp-vm.png

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+---
+title: Install TypeScript
+weight: 4
+
+### FIXED, DO NOT MODIFY
+layout: learningpathall
+---
+
+## Install TypeScript on GCP VM
+This page guides you through installing **TypeScript** and its prerequisites on a **GCP SUSE Arm64 VM**. We will install Node.js, npm, TypeScript, and ts-node, and verify that everything works correctly.
+
+### Update SUSE System
+Before installing new packages, refresh the repositories and update existing packages:
+
+```console
+sudo zypper refresh
+sudo zypper update -y
+```
+This ensures that your VM has the latest package information and security updates.
+
+### Install Node.js and npm
+Node.js is required to run TypeScript scripts, and npm is the Node.js package manager:
+
+```console
+sudo zypper install -y nodejs npm
+```
+The above command installs Node.js runtime and npm on your GCP SUSE VM.
+
+### Install TypeScript globally
+TypeScript (`tsc`) compiles `.ts` files to JavaScript, and ts-node allows you to run TypeScript directly without compiling:
+
+```console
+sudo npm install -g typescript ts-node
+```
+- Installing globally (`-g`) makes `tsc` and `ts-node` available in any directory on your VM.
+
+### Verify installations
+Check that Node.js, npm, TypeScript, and ts-node are installed correctly:
+
+```console
+node -v
+npm -v
+tsc -v
+ts-node -v
+```
+
+**Output:**
+
+```output
+>node -v
+v18.20.5
+>npm -v
+10.8.2
+>tsc -v
+Version 5.9.3
+> ts-node -v
+v10.9.2
+```
+
+These version outputs confirm that the Node.js and TypeScript are installed correctly and are ready for development or benchmarking.