There's a lot of hype and fuss about CoffeeScript, a new programming language built on top of JavaScript. CoffeeScript offers a clean syntax that should appeal to those who like Python or Ruby. It also provides many functional programming features inspired by languages such as Haskell and Lisp. CoffeeScript compiles into efficient JavaScript, and in addition to running the JavaScript in a web browser, you can use it with technologies such as Node.js for server applications. In this first article of a four-part series, get started with CoffeeScript and learn about the perks for developers. You will set up the CoffeeScript compiler and use it to create code that's ready to run in a browser or server.