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CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

logicalfriday.com

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Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#11

Post by dpritchett »

mseebach wrote: post #10
timruffles wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the author meant for those who know Ruby: - @ for instance variables - #{} interpolation and Python: - for comprehensions - significant whitespace

Those are syntactic sugar. If your devs have trouble understanding JavaScript because of this, I suggest your devs aren't very good.

The list comprehension syntax can be a bit confusing at first, especially if they're nested.

When I first saw them I just asked jashkenas in #coffeescript and then it made sense. Later I came to appreciate them in Python. Coincidentally I learned Ruby-style string interpolation from CoffeeScript before trying Ruby.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#12

Post by raganwald »

mseebach wrote: post #10
timruffles wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the author meant for those who know Ruby: - @ for instance variables - #{} interpolation and Python: - for comprehensions - significant whitespace

Those are syntactic sugar. If your devs have trouble understanding JavaScript because of this, I suggest your devs aren't very good.

I don't think all features are "just" syntactic sugar:

http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/04/writing-programs-for-peo...

Everyone parrots the line that programs should be written for people to read. I agree, and that's exactly why I use CoffeeScript: All of the devs in our office read and write JavaScript fluently, but code written in CoffeeScript is easier to read than code written in JavaScript.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#13

Post by mseebach »

raganwald wrote: post #12
mseebach wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are syntactic sugar. If your devs have trouble understanding JavaScript because of this, I suggest your devs aren't very good.

I don't think all features are "just" syntactic sugar: http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/04/writing-programs-for-peo... Everyone parrots the line that programs should be written for people to read. I agree, and that's exactly why I use CoffeeScript: All of the devs in our office read and write JavaScript fluently, but code written in CoffeeScript is easier to read than code written in JavaScript.

Yes, certainly. But the issue was whether these features makes CoffeeScript inherently more readable than JavaScript to a Ruby developer.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#15

Post by lloeki »

> Simple grammar ... verbs do not conjugate differently ... This made me wonder about all those complicated grammar rules

It reminds me that Japanese has a very simple grammar regarding verbs.

There are very few, clearly identifiable groups based on suffix (I seem to recall it's three groups ~u, ~iru/~eru and irregulars), they are basically invariable, and have only two tense, past and present (plus each having a negative form). Time is more often than not purely contextual. Going even farther, subjects and objects are often omitted altogether,adding to the context you have to maintain. Also, there are only two irregular verbs (kuru and suru).

It's a bliss when you talk to someone and only a few words can bear a lot of meaning (no S) thanks to the context. At some point it feels like perl :-)

Now you might think that japanese got it right but then you learn to count stuff and holy cow you're in for a brainfuck as numbering things vary depending on what you're counting. Yay. But if it was too easy it wouldn't be so charming :-)

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#16

Post by OmIsMyShield »

ilitirit wrote: post #7

I suppose it depends on your mother tongue. KoffieSkrip is nie eintlik 'n Afrikaanse Javaskrip nie. Afrikaans has a few quirks and oddities that would make it seem strange to English speakers. For example, the Afrikaans sentence above means "CoffeeScript is not actually an Akfrikaans Javascript". But to someone who is unfamiliar with the language, the structure might imply a double-negative ("CoffeeScript is not actu…

As far as I understand, a few languages use the double negative (also called negative concord); main suspect in this case would be French influence of Afrikaans through the Huguenot settlers in the Cape.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#17

Post by karterk »

raganwald wrote: post #12
mseebach wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are syntactic sugar. If your devs have trouble understanding JavaScript because of this, I suggest your devs aren't very good.

I don't think all features are "just" syntactic sugar: http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/04/writing-programs-for-peo... Everyone parrots the line that programs should be written for people to read. I agree, and that's exactly why I use CoffeeScript: All of the devs in our office read and write JavaScript fluently, but code written in CoffeeScript is easier to read than code written in JavaScript.

> but code written in CoffeeScript is easier to read than code written in JavaScript.

To be fair, that's a personal preference as well. For e.g. some people prefer reading code with symbols (&&, ||) than English keywords (and, or). Also, I have seen people from a C/C++ or Java background find JS easier to read than CS.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#18

Post by kokey »

I spoke only Afrikaans for the first 6 years of my life. The simplification still affects me when speaking English, mainly the examples mentioned in the article, especially with regards to tenses. I still sometimes make mistakes with 'do/does', 'was/were', etc.

Re: CoffeeScript is Afrikaans JavaScript

#20

Post by Muzza »

OmIsMyShield wrote: post #16
ilitirit wrote: post #7

I suppose it depends on your mother tongue. KoffieSkrip is nie eintlik 'n Afrikaanse Javaskrip nie. Afrikaans has a few quirks and oddities that would make it seem strange to English speakers. For example, the Afrikaans sentence above means "CoffeeScript is not actually an Akfrikaans Javascript". But to someone who is unfamiliar with the language, the structure might imply a double-negative ("CoffeeScript is not actu…

As far as I understand, a few languages use the double negative (also called negative concord); main suspect in this case would be French influence of Afrikaans through the Huguenot settlers in the Cape.

Middle Dutch also had the double negative (en/niet).
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