• Compiling Dart into JavaScript is a good idea. It means Dart is immediately usable on any platform. There is no other way to quickly get it out to so many developers. Users are not quickly to switch to new browser - think about IE6.
• I originally expected that a Plug In and VM for Dart on Chrome would be released quickly. Now I think that would have been a bad idea. Chrome would have had a good support for Dart while the rest of the browsers would have been left in the cold. They would probably not use the Google VM - remember that they also have their own JavaScript VMs. It is also unlikely that they would create their own Dart VM. So the current approach create a level playing field and makes it more likely for Dart to succeed.
• I think the Dart VM might be an option for Android - maybe not in the near term but probably in the long run. Also it might be enough for Google to have an alternative VM. It just means it has a stronger position if a deal with Oracle must be closed.
• Dart is a good fit for Google App Engine (GAE). Isolates have just one thread - that is also what Google App Engine enforces. That has the advantage that GAE can restart isolates. Isolates can be snapshotted and migrated to other VMs - which is great if you want to react to different load by offloading work from a machine. Isolates can only communicate via ports - that allows you to minimize dependencies to the outside. Again that is great if you want to restart or migrate Isolates. It might also be a way around the limitation that GAE won't allow you to open sockets. Java without Multithreading and without the possibility to open sockets is hard and no fun - and that is why I believe Java on GAE ist not that great. This changes dramatically if you use Dart.

Labels: Dart, Google Dart

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