This is a language reference and a short tutorial from http://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/livescript.
# Just like its CoffeeScript cousin, LiveScript uses hash symbols for
# single-line comments.
/*
Multi-line comments are written C-style. Use them if you want comments
to be preserved in the JavaScript output.
*/
# As far as syntax goes, LiveScript uses indentation to delimit blocks,
# rather than curly braces, and whitespace to apply functions, rather
# than parenthesis.
########################################################################
## 1. Basic values
########################################################################
# Lack of value is defined by the keyword `void` instead of `undefined`
void # same as `undefined` but safer (can't be overridden)
# No valid value is represented by Null.
null
# The most basic actual value is the logical type:
true
false
# And it has a plethora of aliases that mean the same thing:
on; off
yes; no
# Then you get numbers. These are double-precision floats like in JS.
10
0.4 # Note that the leading `0` is required
# For readability, you may use underscores and letter suffixes in a
# number, and these will be ignored by the compiler.
12_344km
# Strings are immutable sequences of characters, like in JS:
"Christina" # apostrophes are okay too!
"""Multi-line
strings
are
okay
too."""
# Sometimes you want to encode a keyword, the backslash notation makes
# this easy:
\keyword # => 'keyword'
# Arrays are ordered collections of values.
fruits =
* \apple
* \orange
* \pear
# They can be expressed more concisely with square brackets:
fruits = [ \apple, \orange, \pear ]
# You also get a convenient way to create a list of strings, using
# white space to delimit the items.
fruits = <[ apple orange pear ]>
# You can retrieve an item by their 0-based index:
fruits[0] # => "apple"
# Objects are a collection of unordered key/value pairs, and a few other
# things (more on that later).
person =
name: "Christina"
likes:
* "kittens"
* "and other cute stuff"
# Again, you can express them concisely with curly brackets:
person = {name: "Christina", likes: ["kittens", "and other cute stuff"]}
# You can retrieve an item by their key:
person.name # => "Christina"
person["name"] # => "Christina"
# Regular expressions use the same syntax as JavaScript:
trailing-space = /\s$/ # dashed-words become dashedWords
# Except you can do multi-line expressions too!
# (comments and whitespace just gets ignored)
funRE = //
function\s+(.+) # name
\s* \((.*)\) \s* # arguments
{ (.*) } # body
//
########################################################################
## 2. Basic operations
########################################################################
# Arithmetic operators are the same as JavaScript's:
1 + 2 # => 3
2 - 1 # => 1
2 * 3 # => 6
4 / 2 # => 2
3 % 2 # => 1
# Comparisons are mostly the same too, except that `==` and `===` are
# inverted.
2 == 2 # => true
2 == "2" # => false
2 === "2" # => true
# Other relational operators include <, <=, > and >=
# Logical values can be combined through the logical operators `or`,
# `and` and `not`
true and false # => false
false or true # => true
not false # => true
# Collections also get some nice additional operators
[1, 2] ++ [3, 4] # => [1, 2, 3, 4]
'a' in <[ a b c ]> # => true
'name' of { name: 'Chris' } # => true
########################################################################
## 3. Functions
########################################################################
# Since LiveScript is functional, you'd expect functions to get a nice
# treatment. In LiveScript it's even more apparent that functions are
# first class:
add = (left, right) -> left + right
add 1, 2 # => 3
# Functions which take no arguments are called with a bang!
two = -> 2
two!
# LiveScript uses function scope, just like JavaScript, and has proper
# closures too. Unlike JavaScript, the `=` works as a declaration
# operator, and will always declare the variable on the left hand side.
# The `:=` operator is available to *reuse* a name from the parent
# scope.
# You can destructure arguments of a function to quickly get to
# interesting values inside a complex data structure:
tail = ([head, ...rest]) -> rest
tail [1, 2, 3] # => [2, 3]
# You can also transform the arguments using binary or unary
# operators. Default arguments are also possible.
foo = (a = 1, b = 2) -> a + b
foo! # => 3
# You could use it to clone a particular argument to avoid side-effects,
# for example:
copy = (^^target, source) ->
for k,v of source => target[k] = v
target
a = { a: 1 }
copy a, { b: 2 } # => { a: 1, b: 2 }
a # => { a: 1 }
# A function may be curried by using a long arrow rather than a short
# one:
add = (left, right) --> left + right
add1 = add 1
add1 2 # => 3
# Functions get an implicit `it` argument, even if you don't declare
# any.
identity = -> it
identity 1 # => 1
# Operators are not functions in LiveScript, but you can easily turn
# them into one! Enter the operator sectioning:
divide-by-2 = (/ 2)
[2, 4, 8, 16].map(divide-by-2) .reduce (+)
# Not only of function application lives LiveScript, as in any good
# functional language you get facilities for composing them:
double-minus-one = (- 1) . (* 2)
# Other than the usual `f . g` mathematical formulae, you get the `>>`
# and `<<` operators, that describe how the flow of values through the
# functions.
double-minus-one = (* 2) >> (- 1)
double-minus-one = (- 1) << (* 2)
# And talking about flow of value, LiveScript gets the `|>` and `<|`
# operators that apply a value to a function:
map = (f, xs) --> xs.map f
[1 2 3] |> map (* 2) # => [2 4 6]
# You can also choose where you want the value to be placed, just mark
# the place with an underscore (_):
reduce = (f, xs, initial) --> xs.reduce f, initial
[1 2 3] |> reduce (+), _, 0 # => 6
# The underscore is also used in regular partial application, which you
# can use for any function:
div = (left, right) -> left / right
div-by-2 = div _, 2
div-by-2 4 # => 2
# Last, but not least, LiveScript has back-calls, which might help
# with some callback-based code (though you should try more functional
# approaches, like Promises):
readFile = (name, f) -> f name
a <- readFile 'foo'
b <- readFile 'bar'
console.log a + b
# Same as:
readFile 'foo', (a) -> readFile 'bar', (b) -> console.log a + b
########################################################################
## 4. Patterns, guards and control-flow
########################################################################
# You can branch computations with the `if...else` expression:
x = if n > 0 then \positive else \negative
# Instead of `then`, you can use `=>`
x = if n > 0 => \positive
else \negative
# Complex conditions are better-off expressed with the `switch`
# expression, though:
y = {}
x = switch
| (typeof y) is \number => \number
| (typeof y) is \string => \string
| 'length' of y => \array
| otherwise => \object # `otherwise` and `_` always matches.
# Function bodies, declarations and assignments get a free `switch`, so
# you don't need to type it again:
take = (n, [x, ...xs]) -->
| n == 0 => []
| _ => [x] ++ take (n - 1), xs
########################################################################
## 5. Comprehensions
########################################################################
# While the functional helpers for dealing with lists and objects are
# right there in the JavaScript's standard library (and complemented on
# the prelude-ls, which is a "standard library" for LiveScript),
# comprehensions will usually allow you to do this stuff faster and with
# a nice syntax:
oneToTwenty = [1 to 20]
evens = [x for x in oneToTwenty when x % 2 == 0]
# `when` and `unless` can be used as filters in the comprehension.
# Object comprehension works in the same way, except that it gives you
# back an object rather than an Array:
copy = { [k, v] for k, v of source }
########################################################################
## 4. OOP
########################################################################
# While LiveScript is a functional language in most aspects, it also has
# some niceties for imperative and object oriented programming. One of
# them is class syntax and some class sugar inherited from CoffeeScript:
class Animal
(@name, kind) ->
@kind = kind
action: (what) -> "*#{@name} (a #{@kind}) #{what}*"
class Cat extends Animal
(@name) -> super @name, 'cat'
purr: -> @action 'purrs'
kitten = new Cat 'Mei'
kitten.purr! # => "*Mei (a cat) purrs*"
# Besides the classical single-inheritance pattern, you can also provide
# as many mixins as you would like for a class. Mixins are just plain
# objects:
Huggable =
hug: -> @action 'is hugged'
class SnugglyCat extends Cat implements Huggable
kitten = new SnugglyCat 'Purr'
kitten.hug! # => "*Mei (a cat) is hugged*"