I'm not quite sure what your real question is.
On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 9:43 AM, Kevin C <[email protected]> wrote: > Java is a dull OO language from the mid-90's. Jobs was right - Java is a > ball and chain - and now a security hazard. The only sane reason to install > the jdk is for android development. > > It's time to liberate Android from Java. > If you're asking whether or not other languages can compile down to Dalvik, sure they can. You also have to remember that porting the Android API is an often overlooked (and quite major) challenge, unless you use a language that has a nice way of interacting with other bytecode. For example, Scala works for Android development. > Java source -> Java byte code -> Dalvik Byte code -> jit > To: > LiberatedScript -> Dalvik byte code -> jit Why another language? Designing a new language is almost never the answer... > The dalvik VM is thus free to make core improvements in speed, security and > simplicity and: I actually would doubt that Dalvik proper would make too many improvements. I find it very simple to read, and the VM does pretty well on security points as well. > - value types Types aren't generally something that are included in a VM's core, other than what is necessary for memory organization. > - properties > - blocks, async > - better use of multi-core graphics/cpu's. Renderscript - rather the core > language/runtime should be efficient. I don't see Dalvik proper as doing any improvements here: it's such a small model that incorporating these would be significant changes. > (Dalvik byte code is an artefact of the implementation and not - nor should > ever be - a portable standard as Java byte code attempted to be. So new > byte codes are possible). Yes, but I doubt using anything other than Dalvik would be virtually impossible unless Google switched it, because literally *everything* on Android runs atop it. > Google has another project to simplify browser programming called Dart. > But is there scope for evolving to some kind of unification in mobile and > web development. Mozilla is already doing this with Boot 2 Gecko > TypeScript - based on the next version of JS (ES6) - looks promising. > Typescript: > - compiles to today's JS/ES5. > - has classes, modules, optional types/type inferencing - enables > compilation to dalvik. I don't see why these make TS particularly easy to compile to Dalvik...? (Again, Scala has these things, and also compiles to Dalvik.) > - has a readable, but succinct syntax (superior to Dart imo). > - LGPL license. (So even if it's an MS project the licence is sound). Of course, running JavaScript at your core means you also rely on a JavaScript JIT for optimization, which I haven't found to be fast enough not to seem laggish yet. (Though I don't doubt it's imaginable..) Compiling JS to Dalvik would be pretty nontrivial given the simple fact that it's intended for static languages. > It's quite easy to imagine using TypeScript as a *basis* for new language - > but a 'new' language that would work with both JS and Dalvik and also offer > the path to a new optimised runtime that could run on Android, > Chrome/ChromeOS. and the server. I disagree, a new *language* is almost never the way to go: > How may languages does Google need - Go, Dart, JS, Java, Python? Go, Dart, JS, Java, and Python serve for completely different purposes throughout a multinational company using them for completely different application domains. While I agree that having other languages on Android would be nice (you should also look into the SLA for Ruby / Python), I think you also have to think about the needs of Android development. (Java fulfills the needs of a super simple API in a reasonably fast compiled language, which helps get tons of apps written for it.) Kris -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
