Hi all,

I am sorry if this will seemsto be an 'advertisement' for CoffeeScript, this
is not my intention, and I have only dabbled in it, I 
am hardly an expert... but I've been thinking about this since
(re)installing Qooxdoo some 3 weeks ago.

As a (main language) Ruby developer I am really not so attracted  by "real
JavaScript" - but I am finding my way with all the great parenthesis,
totally critical commas, and I am using this opportunity to use up all those
semi-colons I have saved from using Ruby these last 5 years.   -important to
note here:  I am getting work done, so I am not "complaining" so much as I
am entertaining this secret wish item (that I would be enthusiastically
willing to pay for - in the way of a commercial plug-in).

In utter contrast to all this  'clutter' is the shiney new  *transcompiler*
language: *CoffeeScript*.    It is big news in "my" community that this
'language' has been blessed by the very top top folk at 37 signals - the
authors of 'Ruby on Rails'.  (I'm not a 'trendy' type at all - but I will
say that the Future of CoffeeScript seems particularly bright, and what is a
golden 'opportunity now' to push the state-of-the-art seems likely to become
a 'check list item'  for Frameworks not too far down the road. )

If you don't know, the golden rule of this 'transcompiler'  language is:  *
We give you JavaScript*, line for line.  I have the new book now and
*really* have been enjoying 'playing' in this language that is actually,
forgive me for saying this,  but as or more succinct than Ruby itself.  It
is said to be inspired by Python, Ruby and the best of the modern languages.

Generally, and I am not kidding, there seems to be a 50% or so reduction in
lines, but more important to me the code actually
seems considerably more readable.  It is said that the code yielded is often
'better' than hand coded, it is readable, and avoids some of the current
browser issues - in their words they 'keep the good stuff'.

In my few weeks of forms work using Qooxdoo I have very few functions with
anything like 'pure' JavaScript.  But, so far this has been mostly the
"plumbing" and I am yet to add the considerable "business logic" which I
will be doing my best to isolate into the "purest JavaScript" that I can. 
Even so, obviously, there will be various 'state' variable to read from, and
write to.  Long and short of this is that without integration it does not
seem to be worth all the hassle of setting up a simulated environment again
and again.

What would make sense, and be workable, I think  maybe, is to have some sort
of lead-in as in HTML where a programmer can just say "I'm going for
Coffee!" with a pair of statements like <CoffeeScript></CoffeeScript>  or
whatever, and have things worked out (I don't pretend to understand the
details) so that the CoffeeScript to read / write to state variables and so
on.

I'll guess this on the border with what a powerful IDE can do.  I'm now
using Rubymine (by Jet Brains), and there is a Python (charm) version of
their IDE also.   I'm liking this IDE, and there are some built in
(advanced) features that I have avoided so far that might do this for me, so
far I am just happy to slowly learn the 300 or so 'basic' features.  They,
the Jet Brain folks (Russian), support 3rd party "plug-ins" - and other ways
to extend this IDE.  I'm not sure at all, but I know the Rubymine folks are
working with CoffeeScript and I think there is some talk of a another
specialized product just for it.  

Related to this, perhaps, there seems to be a chance to use a 'stubbed out?"
loadable version of Qooxdoo to expose the structure of qooxdoo into the
development time  features of the Python IDE (by Jet Brains?) more extensive
- expose the classes and methods into the Project 'wizard'. 

Again, this is only a digression for me, that main thing is to get some work
done, and that I must get doing now!

Cheers,

GKoller







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