Peter Michaux on Javascript:

One of the most obvious deficiencies in JavaScript is with its user interface: its syntax. The inability to quickly improve its syntax has lead to the language’s downfall.

If you have to read a single article on Javascript this month; make it this one. Insightful, nitty-gritty computer science-y stuff is promised (don’t worry about the overly dramatic title). Lots of great musings, code samples, history, and suggestions on improvements of Javascript, and also about the state of compilers such as CoffeeScript.

Since CoffeeScript compilers are in the hands of developers rather than the visitors to sites, you control which version of CoffeeScript you are using. You can upgrade at will. This also means CoffeeScript does not need to be standardized and go through the subsequent painfully slow growth of a standardized language. CoffeeScript can grow at the rate of its community’s imagination and desire. JavaScript standardization was essential to the success of the web but the same constraints do not apply to CoffeeScript.

(I also recommend checking out more of Peter’s articles. Some really good stuff in there).