so the interesting question is, would this have happened in javascript? is coffescript so much better than javascript that projects are in reach now that weren't reasonable before? can a team who wouldn't be able to build this in javascript, build it in coffeescript?
nobody says coffeescript isn't nicer than javascript, but some people say its not so much nicer that it's worth the "abstraction tax" - compare to C vs assembly where nobody questions that the abstraction is worth it.
I don't know if that question is "interesting" so much as "impossible to answer" and "extremely contentious." :)
But my personal answer is that I have, say, 50% more fun writing CS than JS, so there are likely to be personal projects I write in CS that I just wouldn't have bothered with or would have lost steam on before. When you're doing something for the love of it, every moment that makes you think "dammit [Javascript], why are you making me do this?" is a potential moment to walk away and do something more fun. I (begrudge;every;semicolon) in an unnecessary for loop.
So if other people are like me, I expect CS to bring new things to the world, not because it's 10% faster but because the 10% it's taking out was the boring part. If no one's like me, then I hereby award myself one Special Snowflake from the many falling outside my window.
To put it another way: "The single most important lesson that people say they have learned from the Ruby programming language is a lesson that _Why’s work embodies in its code: Programming (or whatever you do) should be fun. There must be joy in your craft, and there is precious value in tinkering and playing around."[1]
Whether CoffeeScript or wire-wrapping individual transistors lights up your eyes is up to you of course -- but we all benefit by giving creators tools they like. Sermon for today over.
nobody says coffeescript isn't nicer than javascript, but some people say its not so much nicer that it's worth the "abstraction tax" - compare to C vs assembly where nobody questions that the abstraction is worth it.