Dart now compiling in-browser with Dart based Dart compiler

The Google Dart developers are reviving the language's try.dartlang.org site with a major upgrade of the site's capabilities. Previously, the site would compile Dart into JavaScript by sending it to a server, but now, after having compiled the Dart2js compiler to JavaScript, it can run in the user's browser. Dart was introduced in 2011 as a more structured form of JavaScript to replace the language in the browser. Dart can be run in two ways, either compiled to JavaScript or run in its virtual machine and, by exploiting the former, it has made it possible to work on or offline with the Dart2js compiler.

Normally, the Dart2js compiler is shipped with a DartVM to allow it to run. Compiling the compiler results in a 457K JavaScript file which is capable of being run in the browser. The try.dartlang.org site also includes an API reference and a syntax highlighting editor so the user can enter and compile programs; there's also some pre-packaged programs including "Hello world" and the DeltaBlue benchmark. In brief tests, The H found, as expected, that the site compiled and ran applications faster in Google's Chrome than Mozilla's Firefox. One other change in the try.dartlang.org site is that it now supports dart:html, the rich Dart DOM traversal and manipulation API. The new code for the site is available, albeit as a code-review package of patches.

(djwm)