For those who need a concise and practical introduction to CoffeeScript, a progamming language that compiles into JavaScript and makes working with JavaScript easier, SitePoint has brewed up “Jump Start CoffeeScript.”

The 150-page book by Earle Castledine costs US$24.95 for the print version and $19 for the ebook version. It lays out the basics of the language, its syntax, and the interesting features that set it apart from JavaScript.

“Jump Start CoffeeScript” is based around a practical project, leading readers through the building of a simple HTML-based 2D game, and explaining the language’s philosophy, syntax, and features step-by-step along the way. You start with a simple JavaScript drawing function transformed into CoffeeScript. The game’s code is based on well understood principles and prior art, using common, simple programming patterns that are easy to grasp while also demonstrating CoffeeScript’s expressiveness.

Boasting a Masters in Information Technology, Castledine is a senior systems analyst and JavaScript expert. To download free sample chapters of “Jump Start JavaScript,” and to view the table of contents, go to http://www.sitepoint.com/books/coffeescript1/ .