[FRIAM] Stating the obvious

[Birchard Hayes]

On Feb 3, 2008, at 11:16 AM, Marcus G. Daniels wrote:
> Indeed `System' is native to Windows, and that fact could be detected
> such that CLI bytecodes could be directed to the native engine on a
> Windows or Mono-based system for fast execution.  Further, Firefox  
> will
> also soon have a high performance JIT for JavaScript.

I still don't trust the MS security model, but could just suffering  
from a knee jerk anti-MS reaction.  The inclusion of the System  
library really ought to be completely superfluous on the client, and  
may in fact be unnecessary.  However, MS has found that many  
developers liberally cut and paste from example code and including  
that library smacks of the old "this web site is designed for, and  
will only work on IE" even if other browsers are supported.   Java  
code also often includes a System library and it has always caused me  
pain when my students include entire libraries that they haven't used  
and thus create bloated, potentially unsecured byte code.

The biggest performance hit for JavaScript is dynamic typing, high  
performance JIT or not.  Once understood, the pitfalls of dynamic  
typing can be avoided.  I feel myself verging on a rant about the  
state of Comp Sci education, so I won't digress.

>> Instead of using Microsoft's Volta, I would suggest using tools from
>> Google Code, http://code.google.com ,
> Google does have GWT, but the difference is that they have a very  
> simple
> toolkit, not all of Java EE, which would be the analogue to  
> Volta/.NET.
> Also Google lacks the very substantial IP in compiler technology that
> Microsoft has.

True, although I still prefer Intel's compiler to that of Visual  
Studio.  I have to concede that Google code may not have been the best  
example of the alternatives.  Their business model has, after all,  
become more advertising focused.

>
>> or Yahoo's developer kits, http://developer.yahoo.com
> You mean Microsoft's.   ;-)

Ha ha ha, I totally forgot about that acquisition - Point taken!


Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong  
reasons.
                                            ~R. Buckminster Fuller

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