Am 23.01.2012, 17:21 Uhr, schrieb Trass3r <[email protected]>:
Just discovered this LLVM-to-Javascript translator:
http://emscripten.org/
Looks really interesting, they even converted CPython.
Might be interesting for D as well.
Question is how the low-level stuff in druntime would work out.
I've seen that a while ago. I wrote the visualizer (or replay viewer) for
aichallenge.org and had to cover an applet for older IEs, a HTML 5 version
for standards complient browsers and an standalone application. Back then
I decided to write the viewer in JavaScript and use a Java JavaScript
engine (Rhino from Mozilla) to wrap it into a cross-platform desktop
application and an applet all at once. Quite literally even, since the JAR
file worked as an applet and standalone application.
In parallel I made my first steps with D2 and when the CTFE regex came
out, I wondered if DMD could compile my JavaScript to native code.
Then I found emscripten and that opens a whole new alternative: To write
the viewer in Python/C/D and let emscripten generate JavaScript. There is
even a version of Gtk (and Cairo?) running in JavaScript, so the graphics
should not be a problem either. Once the converter is rock solid, it is
definitely easier to run unit tests with a native application, than it is
with JavaScript, especially with its lack of strong typing. It is a
scripting language after all.
