back to article Opera revs JavaScript engine of the future

Opera is building a new JavaScript engine. And one day, the Norwegian browser mavens say, it will be the fastest the web has ever seen. Under development for several months now, the new engine is known as Carakan, and according to private Norwegian tests, it's already two and a half times faster than the JavaScript engine …

COMMENTS

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  1. J-Wick
    Thumb Up

    I like Opera...

    I know I'm probably about 1 in a 1000 - literally, but it's quick, and fast, handles tabbed browsing easily, and works with most things I want it to. Occasionally it have to load FF, (which brings my computer to a halt for about 30 seconds as it lumbers into life), but generally Opera does the business. Even for Youtube and (yikes) Facebook.

    Heck, I even *paid* for it back in the day...

  2. John

    can't wait!

    but I hope Opera doesn't forget I use it more for ease of use than speed. Safari is nice and all, but I miss so much when I use it.

    Jon Stokes recently dissed the Palm Pre for using a Javascript API that would be inefficient compared to a native API, but maybe the Palm people are doing something similar to the Opera people and also translating down to native where possible.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nothing like being in the Browserati

    EMCAScript is an attempt to get away from the JavaScript name and the amusing Java misunderstanding. But, JavaScript it was called and all very legitimately.

    You can use it to your advantage though, nobody who codes in either JavaScript or Java makes the mistake, but blowhard technodweebs make it all the time, and this acts as a quick early warning indicator that you are dealing with a moron.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Browserati? No, standards

    ECMAScript isn't Javascript, but Javascript is based on ECMAScript. ActionScript (used in Flash) is based on ECMAScript. JScript is based on ECMAScript. They are all supersets of ECMAScript.

    ECMAScript is an official standard. Javascript is not. Opera cannot claim to be compliant with something not standarised, without leaving themselves open to criticism for non-compliance. They must be careful, and specific.

  5. amanfromMars Silver badge

    Nice One, Lars/Norway

    "and the amusing Java misunderstanding." .... By Anonymous Coward Posted Friday 6th February 2009 00:39 GMT.

    Nothing that XXXXPerienced Enigma Players cannot Fix with AI Virtual Patch of NEUKlearer HyperRadioProActive Quantum Communications which TelePort Transparency for Stealth Purpose too.

    Does Carakan Run Flash Drivers CodeXXXX ....... for Sunny SPOT Activities/Venus Perfumed Gardens Instruction Code ........ the Full Monty for Compilation of Heavenly Binary Settings for an Emerging Greater Awareness of Life's Virtual Reality Gift for Any into Giving Instantaneous Spontaneous Personalised Love .......

    As Such is IT Impregnable with such Latent Powers in Binary Control. ....... and QuITe Failsafe too as any attack only destroys the ........ well, it would an assaultant, misarranged and/or mentally deranged, without a shadow of a doubt, M'Lud. :-)

  6. Wyrmhole

    What Opera needs...

    ...is a new fukking icon. Srsly.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The map is not the territory

    Assembly code is a low-level language representation of machine (aka native) code.

    The comment "The native code will look a lot like assembly code" makes about as much a sense as the comment from amanfromMars.

  8. nobby
    Thumb Up

    @Nice One

    phew. and here i was thinking i was starting to understand amanfromMars's postings.

    Could we get him to write the next version of the European Constitution? Everyone would be too frightened to say "I dont understand it" to vote against it.

  9. Whitter
    Thumb Down

    Is this really all that important a feature?

    I use Opera - with Javascript disabled wherever possible.

    There's rarely any need for it.

    So a faster rendition? Not interested.

    A web-secure scripting language? That I might have interest in.

  10. Robert Grant

    THEY'VE AWAKENED THE CARAKAN!!

    That is all.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    Faster is a Good Thing

    Opera has the same core engine for all operating systems and this includes the very popular Opera Mini and Opera for Windows Mobile. It may not matter all that much on our multi-core many-gig desktops, but it can matter on the mobiles.

  12. Daniel

    Brief history lesson

    ECMAscript was developed by Netscape and gained the name after it was submitted to, and retified by, the European Computer Manufacturers Association. However, at the height of the browser wars, some corpoate wonk at Netscape decided to deliberately confuse matters by rebranding it 'Javascript', in an attempt to suggest a completely bogus association with the, then, much more fashionable, Java language. It would be quite good if we could all go back to calling it 'Livescript' (it's original name) since that was actually a pretty good description of wwhat most people use it for.

  13. Charles
    Boffin

    So, to put it in a nutshell...

    Opera plans to speed up their scripting engine by restructuring their memory management system for variables and objects and by employing Just-In-Time compilation. Sounds like it'd be a blast for desktop application but may be more problematic for memory-limited applications like Mini and Mobile (JIT and the "register" system seem to indicate an increased memory footprint as the tradeoff for increased speed). I wish them luck.

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