CoffeeScriptEdit

Official site

• http://jashkenas.github.com/coffee-script/

Advantages

• nice toys like list comprehensions

Disadvantages

• adds a compilation step
• no native browser support yet (source maps can be used to get CoffeeScript visible in the debugger, but you can’t type CoffeeScript in the browser console)
• language designed for writability but not readability (compare that with Knuth’s proposal: "Let us change our traditional attitude to the construction of programs. Instead of imagining that our main task is to instruct a computer what to to, let us concentrate rather on explaining to human beings what we want a computer to do."):
  • multiple ways to do things
  • implicit considered better than explicit; parentheses, braces, commas and other elements are (often) optional

See also

• CoffeeScript is wonderful:
  • http://ricardo.cc/2011/06/02/10-CoffeeScript-One-Liners-to-Impress-Your-Friends.html
• CoffeeScript is horrible:
  • http://ceronman.com/2012/09/17/coffeescript-less-typing-bad-readability/
  • http://ryanflorence.com/2011/case-against-coffeescript/
  • CoffeeScript "wat"/"WTF" moments: https://github.com/satyr/coco/wiki/wtfcs
  • "CoffeeScript’s scoping is madness": http://donatstudios.com/CoffeeScript-Madness (and relatedly: http://lucumr.pocoo.org/2011/12/22/implicit-scoping-in-coffeescript/)
  • "Why CoffeeScript isn’t the answer": http://www.walkercoderanger.com/blog/2014/03/coffeescript-isnt-the-answer/
  • "Why I’m ditching CoffeeScript": http://toshokelectric.com/blog/2013/04/04/why-im-ditching-coffeescript/
  • "One CoffeeScript ambiguity": https://gist.github.com/tomdale/2481356
• CoffeeScript is simultaneously wonderful/horrible:
  • http://ruoyusun.com/2013/03/17/my-take-on-coffeescript.html (Reddit commentary)
• A bunch of smart JS people interviewed about CoffeeScript: http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/interviews/should-you-learn-coffeescript/