V8 (JavaScript engine)

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V8 JavaScript Engine
V8 JavaScript engine logo.png
Developer(s) Google
Stable release 3.17.12[1] / March 18, 2013; 40 days ago (2013-03-18)
Development status Active
Written in C++,[2] JavaScript[2]
Operating system Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, Android, Google Chrome OS, webOS, BlackBerry 10
Platform IA-32, x86-64, ARM[3]
Type JavaScript engine
License BSD
Website code.google.com/p/v8

The V8 JavaScript Engine is an open source JavaScript engine developed by Google. It ships with the Google Chrome web browser.[4] As of 2012, the head programmer is Lars Bak.[5] The first version of the V8 engine was released at the same time as the first version of Chrome, September 2, 2008.

V8 compiles JavaScript to native machine code (IA-32, x86-64, ARM, or MIPS CPUs)[3][6] before executing it, instead of more traditional techniques such as executing bytecode or interpreting it. The compiled code is additionally optimized (and re-optimized) dynamically at runtime, based on heuristics of the code's execution profile. Optimization techniques used include inlining, elision of expensive runtime properties, and inline caching, among many others.

Contents

[edit] Details

The garbage collector of V8 is a generational incremental collector.[7] The V8 assembler is based on the Strongtalk assembler.[8] On 7 December 2010, a new compiling infrastructure named Crankshaft was released, with speed improvements.[9]

[edit] Usage

V8 is intended to be used both in a browser (notably in Chrome and Chromium browsers) and as a standalone high-performance engine that can be integrated into independent projects, for example server-side JavaScript in Node.js.[10]

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

  1. ^ "V8 JavaScript Engine: Changelog". Google Code. Google. 18 Mar 2013. Retrieved 19 Mar 2013. 
  2. ^ a b http://code.google.com/p/v8/
  3. ^ a b https://developers.google.com/v8/intro
  4. ^ Lenssen, Philipp (1 September 2008). "Google on Google Chrome - comic book". Google Blogoscoped. Google. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
  5. ^ Minto, Rob (27 March 2009). "The genius behind Google’s web browser". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
  6. ^ "V8 Changelog v3.8.2". Google. Retrieved 23 October 2012. 
  7. ^ "A game changer for interactive performance". Chromium Blog. Google. Retrieved 1 May 2012. 
  8. ^ "V8 JavaScript Engine: License". Google Code. Google. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
  9. ^ "A New Crankshaft for V8". Chromium Blog. Google. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2011. 
  10. ^ Why Everyone Is Talking About Node, By Jolie O'Dell, March 10, 2011, Mashable

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