List of ECMAScript engines
Encyclopedia
An ECMAScript engine is a program that executes source code written in a version of the ECMAScript
language standard, for example JavaScript
.
(JIT) or variations of that idea. The performance benefits for just-in-time compilation make it much more suitable for web applications written in JavaScript
.
The following engines use runtime interpreters, which do not compile into native machine code and generally run more slowly.
ECMAScript
ECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
language standard, for example JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
.
List of ECMAScript engines
These are new generation ECMAScript engines for web browsers, all implementing just-in-time compilationJust-in-time compilation
In computing, just-in-time compilation , also known as dynamic translation, is a method to improve the runtime performance of computer programs. Historically, computer programs had two modes of runtime operation, either interpreted or static compilation...
(JIT) or variations of that idea. The performance benefits for just-in-time compilation make it much more suitable for web applications written in JavaScript
JavaScript
JavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
.
- Carakan: A JavaScript engine developed by Opera Software ASA, included in the 10.50 release of the OperaOpera (web browser)Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser. - ChakraChakra (JScript engine)Chakra is a JScript engine developed by Microsoft for its Internet Explorer 9 web browser. A distinctive feature of the 32-bit version of the engine is that it JIT compiles scripts on a separate CPU core, parallel to the web browser...
: A new IE JScript engine used in Internet Explorer 9Internet Explorer 9Windows Internet Explorer 9 is the current version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft. It was released to the public on March 14, 2011 at 21:00 PDT. Internet Explorer 9 supports several CSS 3 properties, embedded ICC v2 or v4 color profiles support via Windows Color System, and...
. It was first previewed at MIX 10 as part of the Internet Explorer Platform Preview. - SpiderMonkey: A JavaScript engine in Mozilla GeckoGecko (layout engine)Gecko is a free and open source layout engine used in many applications developed by Mozilla Foundation and the Mozilla Corporation , as well as in many other open source software projects....
applications, including FirefoxMozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
. The engine has two types of compilers, that are sometimes referred to as JägerMonkeyJägerMonkeyJägerMonkey is a JavaScript engine released for Firefox 4 and later versions. It has "Method JIT" and a new assembler based on Safari's Nitro...
or TraceMonkey. - SquirrelFish: The JavaScript engine for Apple Inc.'s WebKitWebKitWebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
. Also known as Nitro. - TamarinTamarin (JavaScript engine)Tamarin is a free virtual machine with just-in-time compilation support intended to implement the fourth edition of the ECMAScript standard....
: An ActionScriptActionScriptActionScript is an object-oriented language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. . It is a dialect of ECMAScript , and is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the Adobe Flash Player platform, used on Web pages in the form of...
and ECMAScriptECMAScriptECMAScript is the scripting language standardized by Ecma International in the ECMA-262 specification and ISO/IEC 16262. The language is widely used for client-side scripting on the web, in the form of several well-known dialects such as JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript.- History :JavaScript...
engine used in Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
. - V8V8 (JavaScript engine)The Google V8 JavaScript Engine is an open source JavaScript engine developed by Google and ships with the Google Chrome web browser. Lars Bak is the head programmer....
: A JavaScript engine used in Google ChromeGoogle ChromeGoogle Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
. - JavaScriptCoreWebKitWebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
: A JavaScript interpreter that was originally derived from KJS. It is used in the WebKit projectWebKitWebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
and applications such as SafariSafari (web browser)Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
. - NashornNashorn (JavaScript engine)Nashorn is an upcoming JavaScript engine, developed entirely in Java by Oracle Corporation. It will be based on JSR 292 and will be available for Java 8 in late 2012. The project has been announced first at the JVM language summit in July 2011., and then confirmed at JavaOne in October 2011-See...
: A JavaScript engine used in OracleOracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
JavaJavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
JDK.
The following engines use runtime interpreters, which do not compile into native machine code and generally run more slowly.
- Futhark: The ECMAScript engine of the OperaOpera (web browser)Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser versions 9.50 to 10.10. - InScript: An obsolete proprietaryProprietary softwareProprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
library used for iCabICabiCab is a web browser for the Macintosh by Alexander Clauss, derived from Crystal Atari Browser for Atari TOS compatible computers. It is the most recently actively developed browser for 68k-based Macintoshes that features tabbed browsing and one of a very few browsers that was still updated in...
2 and 3 - JScriptJScriptJScript is a scripting language based on the ECMAScript standard that is used in Microsoft's Internet Explorer.JScript is implemented as a Windows Script engine. This means that it can be "plugged in" to any application that supports Windows Script, such as Internet Explorer, Active Server Pages,...
: The engine that is used in Internet ExplorerInternet ExplorerWindows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
for versions up to IE9, and one component of the TridentTrident (layout engine)Trident is the name of the layout engine for the Microsoft Windows version of Internet Explorer.It was first introduced with the release of Internet Explorer version 4.0 in October 1997; it has been steadily upgraded and remains in use today...
layout engineLayout engineA web browser engine, , is a software component that takes marked up content and formatting information and displays the formatted content on the screen. It "paints" on the content area of a window, which is displayed on a monitor or a printer...
. - KJS: The engine used in KonquerorKonquerorNot to be confused with the Conqueror web browser.Konqueror is a web browser and file manager that provides file-viewer functionality for file systems such as local files, files on a remote ftp server and files in a disk image. It is a core part of the KDE desktop environment...
, and one component of KHTMLKHTMLKHTML is the HTML layout engine developed by the KDE project. It is the engine used by the Konqueror web browser. A forked version of KHTML called WebKit is used by several web browsers, among them Safari and Google Chrome...
, a predecessor to JavaScriptCoreWebKitWebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
. - Linear B: The ECMAScript engine of the OperaOpera (web browser)Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by Opera Software with over 200 million users worldwide. The browser handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, chatting on IRC, downloading files via BitTorrent,...
web browser versions 7.0 to 9.50, exclusive. - NarcissusNarcissus (JavaScript engine)Narcissus is an open source JavaScript engine. It was written by Brendan Eich, who also wrote the first JavaScript engine, SpiderMonkey. Its name is based on the mythical figure of Narcissus, who fell in love with himself...
: JavaScript implemented in JavaScript (a meta-circular evaluatorMeta-circular evaluatorA meta-circular evaluator is a special case of a self-interpreter in which the existing facilities of the parent interpreter are directly applied to the source code being interpreted, without any need for additional implementation...
), intended to run in another JavaScript engine, of theoretical and educational nature only. - QtScript: Originally developed by Trolltech, now owned by Nokia. It provides QObject integration with JavaScriptCoreWebKitWebKit is a layout engine designed to allow web browsers to render web pages. WebKit powers Google Chrome and Apple Safari and by October 2011 held over 33% of the browser market share between them. It is also used as the basis for the experimental browser included with the Amazon Kindle ebook...
. - RhinoRhino (JavaScript engine)Rhino is an open source JavaScript engine. It is developed entirely in Java and managed by the Mozilla Foundation. The Foundation also provides another implementation of JavaScript engine written in C known as SpiderMonkey....
: One of several JavaScript engines from MozillaMozillaMozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
, using the Java Platform. - YAJI: An ECMAScript engine based on an implementation by Jean-Marc Lugrin in 1999, currently being developed to support the latest standards (Spec 262, v5.1).