VM-Neutral Node.js API Unveiled, As NodeSource Collaborates With Microsoft, Mozilla, Intel and IBM (medium.com) 28
An anonymous reader writes:
This week saw the first proof of concept for Node.js API (or NAPI for short), "making module maintainers' lives easier by defining a stable module API that is independent from changes in [Google's JavaScript engine] V8 and allowing modules to run against newer versions of Node.js without recompilation." Their announcement cites both the efforts of the Node.js API working group and of ChakraCore, the core part of the Chakra Javascript engine that powers Microsoft Edge.
And there was also a second announcement -- that the Node.js build system "will start producing nightly node-chakracore builds, enabling Node.js to be used with the ChakraCore JavaScript engine. "These initial efforts are stepping stones to make Node.js VM-neutral, which would allow more opportunities for Node.js in IoT and mobile use cases as well as a variety of different systems."
One IBM runtime developer called it "a concrete step toward the strategic end goal of VM neutrality," and the Node.js Foundation believes that the API will ultimately result in "more modules to choose from, and more stability with modules without the need to continually upgrade."
And there was also a second announcement -- that the Node.js build system "will start producing nightly node-chakracore builds, enabling Node.js to be used with the ChakraCore JavaScript engine. "These initial efforts are stepping stones to make Node.js VM-neutral, which would allow more opportunities for Node.js in IoT and mobile use cases as well as a variety of different systems."
One IBM runtime developer called it "a concrete step toward the strategic end goal of VM neutrality," and the Node.js Foundation believes that the API will ultimately result in "more modules to choose from, and more stability with modules without the need to continually upgrade."
Re: (Score:2)
Or create an app with the same name of an obscure library file, get the repository to remove the library file, piss off the author of the library file, and break the Internet at the same time.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/03/rage-quit-coder-unpublished-17-lines-of-javascript-and-broke-the-internet// [arstechnica.com]
Amazing progress for JavaScript (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
That's crony capitalism!
-- Sarah Palin
Re: (Score:1, Funny)
Re: (Score:3)
It's too late in any case. By the time you've learned it it's either been replaced by something else (potentially an incompatible version of itself) or been abandoned.
Re: (Score:3)
Is an async framework for Javascript which somehow become hugely popular and people use to write web servers. Yes. In Javascript.
Re: But WTF is it? (Score:3, Informative)
It's not an async framework, it's a VM which happens to execute things asynchronously (and is mostly built on top of libuv).
Re: (Score:3)
Hey, when the only tool you know is a hammer...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
PayPal, NetFlix, Medium, LinkedIn, Uber ... Quite a few, as it turns out.
Re: (Score:2)
Who on earth would choose Javascript for server-side code?
It's not only serverside either, it's now possible to make fullblown desktop applications using mostly javascript/HTML/CSS with Atom. Atom basicaly is chromium + node.
http://electron.atom.io/ [electron.atom.io]
It's picking up pace and the programs written in this feels modern, like the web. It's extremely flexible compared to any existing widget toolset out there. And the applications written are fast. I''ve used it for quite a large project and to me this is what Java promised 20 years ago regarding write once/run everywhere
Re: But WTF is it? (Score:1)
Server side JavaScript. Mostly you have access to the file system.
They originally ripped out v8 from Chrome. So you could run JS code without a browser and get access to the file system (and other various OS components not typically available in a JS sandbox).
jQuery was just a set of functions standardized to work in all browsers back when that was actually a chore.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
You don't want to know. I sure know I was happier before I had to learn and use this sh*t.
Re: (Score:1)
I keep hearing about this node.js thing but nobody has ever been able to clearly explain it to me: what the hell is it? Is that like that jQuery crap?
Your attitude may contribute to fewer people being willing to spend any time on explaining things to you. Use Google and find out yourself. Stop being lazy.
nbind is an existing VM-neutral API (Score:1)
nbind [github.com] is a VM-neutral stable C++ / JavaScript API that already works across all versions of Node.js, Electron and recent evergreen web browsers. Binaries for Node.js and Electron can be compiled using GCC, Clang or Visual Studio targeting Linux, OS X or Windows. Asm.js binaries for browsers and Electron can be compiled using Emscripten. The API is the same in both cases, and work is ongoing to also provide a stable ABI across all versions of Node.js and Electron on a single platform.
Basically C++ classes an