Allow `export as namespace` alongside commonJS's export =

[tnrich]

Search Terms

export as namespace lodash umd commonjs

Suggestion

This is coming from this issue:
#29039

Basically vscode auto-import won't work with lodash's .d.ts file because, and I quote @aleclarson:

When export = is used, a CommonJS module is implied, which means named exports (eg: export const) are no longer allowed (since that's an ESM feature). The problem is that named exports are required for auto-import to work.

He suggested that I open a new proposal for:

export as namespace to be used as a hint that auto-import can suggest the namespace's properties.

Use Cases

This would allow lodash to be auto-completed because named exports would then be allowed side-by-side with commonJS.

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.

Thanks!

Linked issues:
#10907
#24719
#26299

[RyanCavanaugh]

#29039 is completely off the rails 😢

export as namespace has nothing to do with import _ = require("lodash"), and UMD-ness doesn't affect whether or not auto-imports are available from a file. The ability to destructure from a module that purports to be a CommonJS module via an export = declaration is a feature that would occur based on the loader, not the module.