Resources for Learning CoffeeScript
CoffeeScript is a little language that compiles down to JavaScript. I’m a big fan of JavaScript, but it’s definitely a very quirkly language. CoffeeScript eliminates some of those quirks and brings JavaScript’s syntax more in line with languages like Ruby and Python.
The Little Book on CoffeeScript
If you’re just starting out with CoffeeScript a great resource is The Little Book on CoffeeScript. This book will only take about an hour to read but will step you through the ideas behind CoffeeScript, the syntax, compilation and common pitfalls. It’s a great resource and it’s free.
Js2coffee
Next up you’ll probably want to start playing around with CoffeeScript. Js2coffee is a great resource here – it allows you to convert regular JavaScript files to their CoffeeScript equivalents. This is an excellent sandbox where you can see the difference between JavaScript and CoffeeScript.
Js2coffee is also available as a NodeJS module – this is particularly useful if you’re migrating a project from JavaScript to CoffeeScript.
$ npm install js2coffee
$ js2coffee file.js > file.coffeeCodeSchool
If you’re looking a bit more structure to your CoffeeScript learning head over to CodeSchool. They have a 6-part series titled ‘A sip of CoffeeScript’ that guides through all the syntax and pitfalls of CoffeeScript.
I especially like this series because it really covers all of CoffeeScript. This is another great resource and it’s free to members.
CoffeeScript.org
The last resource for learning CoffeeScript is – no surprise – the official CoffeeScript website. Here you will find documentation for the NPM CoffeeScript module as well as an in-depth breakdown of CoffeeScript syntax.
CoffeeScript is a great language and it’s definitely worth it (and easy) to learn. Happy coding.