CoffeeScript and JavaScript (Changelog Interviews #29)

Wynn and special guest host Micheil Smith sat down with Jeremy Ashkenas from DocumentCloud to chat about CoffeeScript, a cool language that compiles to JavaScript.

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Featuring:

• Wynn Netherland – GitHub, X

Show Notes:

• CoffeeScript - a cool language that compiles to JavaScript.
• DocumentCloud - an index of primary source documents and a tool for annotating, organizing and publishing them on the web.
• Haskell - an advanced purely functional programming language
• Everything in CoffeeScript is an expression
• Switch statements in CoffeeScript compile to if/else chains
• CoffeeScript has powerful comprehensions for Arrays, Objects, and Ranges
• Existential operator should look familiar to Rubyists
• Splats make JavaScript arguments even easier
• ECMAScript 5.0 - the latest JavaScript standard
• ECMAScript Harmony
• CoffeeScript’s String Interpolation
• CoffeeScript’s Class/inheritance features
• Function binding - as President Clinton said “It depends on what your definition of ‘this’ is…” ;-)
• Jeremy loves working with <canvas> to create Buddhabrot Fractals
• Node.js finds its way into every episode!
• NPM is the new standard for Node Package Management
• JSLint cleans up your JavaScripts.
• Jade gives your JavaScript Haml envy from TJ Holowaychuk
• Lincoln Shire Poacher - RaphaelJS graphics from Chris Lloyd
• Underscore.js - featured in Episode 0.0.5
• Comet
• @CoffeeScript - Unofficial Twitter account
• Join us in #coffeescript on Freenode

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!