LiveScript

Description #

LiveScript is a functional programming language that compiles to JavaScript, designed as a more expressive, feature-rich alternative to CoffeeScript with influences from Haskell and F#.

History #

LiveScript was introduced in 2011 as a fork of CoffeeScript by George Zahariev, with the goal of fixing CoffeeScript’s limitations and adding functional programming capabilities. Though niche, it found a following among developers who preferred concise syntax and advanced language features in JavaScript environments.

Hello World Code #

console.log 'Hello, World!'

How to Run #

Option 1: Online
https://livescript.net/#try

Option 2: Local
Install via npm:

npm install -g LiveScript

Create a file hello.ls:

console.log 'Hello, World!'

Then run:

lsc hello.ls

Key Concepts #

• Compiles to JavaScript
• Indentation-based, whitespace-sensitive
• Supports pattern matching
• Strong functional programming features
• Arrow functions: -> and =>
• List comprehensions and ranges
• Optional parentheses and semicolons
• Macros and pipe operator (|>)
• Influenced by Haskell, F#, and CoffeeScript
• Compatible with Node.js and the browser

Try It Online #

https://livescript.net/#try

Fun Facts #

• Despite the name, LiveScript is not related to the original JavaScript name (which was once called LiveScript).
• It was one of the first compile-to-JS languages to adopt the pipe operator (|>) years before JavaScript proposals.
• Though less popular now, LiveScript’s influence lives on in the JavaScript functional programming ecosystem.

Resources #

Official Site
GitHub Repository
Language Reference
LiveScript Examples