TraceMonkey: DOM, Canvas, Opensource and more
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fejohn.org%2Ffiles%2Fassorted-benchmarks.sm.png)
Brendan Eich promised that trace based JIT’s will give us killer JavaScript speed and now we have seen the fruit of his labour with TraceMonkey (adds trace smarts to Tamarin-tracing).
A lot has been said already, but I am really excited about much more than the “look at how we run Sun Spider”.
The DOM matters
Although it may not sure in todays code drop, Brendan gets that you have to care about the DOM and not running while(1) { cheasyTest(); }:
Canvas
You know Canvas? It’s days are coming… fast, as John Resig mentions:
One area that I’m especially excited about is in relation to Canvas. The primary thing holding back most extensive Canvas development hasn’t been rendering - but the processor limitations of the language (performing the challenging mathematical operations related to vectors, matrices, or collision detection). I expect this area to absolutely explode after the release of Firefox 3.1 as we start to see this work take hold.
Opensource matters
None of this could be accomplished without the great side of opensource. TraceMonkey uses Tamarin-tracing, which enables it to build on amazing code.
TraceMonkey itself is opensource, which enables the SquirrelFish team say, to check it out. And, vice versa. This will keep the competition going along nicely.
This kind of competition is phenomenal for us, the consumers of the Web. Performance is key in 2008, and Web developers get to laugh all the way to the bank.
Thanks guys!
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