You can get around it to some extend with source maps and so on - just make sure you're generating them with whatever build process you use. In practice, howev

You can get around it to some extend with source maps and so on - just make sure you're generating them with whatever build process you use. In practice, however, all that lovely Coffeescript syntax can easily trip you up; often something will compile successfully, but not to the 'right' Javascript. I wouldn't recommend CS until you get your head around the fundamentals of JS. In particular, CS does some very 'clever' things with the Javascript this object; I have certainly lost my scope at unexpected points in CS programs (often in loops). When you're optimising code, furthermore, you definitely need a strong sense of what JS code you'll get out the other end. I'd recommend Reginald Braithwaite's Javascript Allonge as an overview of JS semantics - the material on scopes and environments is very useful, given that JS behaviour on that score is ... idiosyncratic. https://leanpub.com/javascript-allonge/read https://leanpub.com/javascript-allonge/read