CoffeeScript

The expansion of single-page and mobile browser-based applications into mainstream use, along with continued growth of node.js for server-side applications, have led to increased adoption of CoffeeScript to simplify JavaScript codebases. As a language that compiles into JavaScript code for runtime execution, many concerns have been raised about the difficulty of debugging applications written in CoffeeScript. The introduction of Source Maps in CoffeeScript 1.6.1 is helping producers of development tools address this concern. We expect this will lead to further adoption of the language following the lead of highly visible technology firms such as Dropbox.

JavaScript is a powerful, ubiquitous programming language with tricky and error prone syntax. Coffeescript fixes many of the warts of JavaScript in a clean, simple syntax that generates readable JavaScript. For example, creating true private variables in JavaScript is a syntactic nightmare; CoffeeScript generates the technically correct but hideous syntax. Some readers may be confused by our advocacy of Coffeescript given our general dislike for GWT, because on the surface they seem similar: tools that generate JavaScript. However, it is the level of abstraction that differs. GWT has an elaborate component model, which tries to hide details about the underlying language (JavaScript) and platform (the web). Coffeescript tries to make it easier to write proper JavaScript, avoiding pathological but default “features” of JavaScript, and does not build a layer that tries to insulate you from the platform.