Some internet heavyweights are coming together to create a new format for web applications. The web uses JavaScript to make things happen, and over the year company's have developed compilers to help update the aging standard and make it easier to use for developers. Now, Google, Microsoft, WebKit engineers and the folks over at Mozilla are joining forces to create a new binary format for compiling code to Java.
Those aforementioned companies, all have there own existing compilers that either speed up or enrich the process with which apps are compiled for JavaScript. It seems as though they are now bringing their efforts together in the from of the new WebAssembly project.
It is apparently able to decode apps much faster (up to 20x) for Java because it doesn't need to parse the entire code. Currently focused on C/C+, at the beginning WebAssembly will launch in a sort of light version that will translate WebAssembly compiles for any browser. Once its adoption rate gets to a certain point, the teams will begin building more tools and additional programming languages (Rust, Go, C# and more).
The group does not intend to replace JavaScript by the sounds of it, but rather, work alongside it. The aim is to allow a larger range of languages to be translated to native browser apps more efficiently. The companies even suggest it is likely apps may be created on both platforms: WebAssembly for animations and Java for user interface code, for example.
The interim Mozilla head, who also happens to be one of the JavaScript inventors, believes it is only a matter of time before all of the main browsers support the new format to solidify the relationship between JavaScript and WebAssembly. With so many major players having a hand in the new compile format, it is likely to catch on, especially considering it's already compatible with some of the popular compiling tools dev use for existing platforms.
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