Google has released the first stable version of the programming language Dart, whicih has been designed to replace JavaScript, offering higher performance and efficiency of programming. The new language is ready for developing real-world applications, sais project leader Lars Bak. At the moment Dart is not supported by modern browsers, but developers can convert Dart code in a commonly understood JavaScript.
Dart SDK 1.0 package includes all the necessary tools for creating a simple script, as well as full-fledged web applications.
The package includes undemanding to resources and at the same time powerful development environment called Dart Editor, which has the following possibilities – code completion, refactoring, the transition to the definitions and system debugging tips and warnings. And that’s not all.
A custom version of the browser Chromium virtual machine Dart VM, which is also included in the package, along with other tools, allows you to run native code. In addition, code debugging is performed directly in the Dart Editor, that is the programmer can instantly see the result of their work.
To run the code written in Dartin modern browsers you’ll need a Dart compiler provided in JavaScript – dart2js. Compiled applets and applications can be run in Internet Explorer 9 and 10, the latest version of Firefox, the latest version of Chrome, and Safari 6.
None of the modern browsers does not yet support native code Dart. In the future, Google plans to add this feature to its own Chrome browser.
According to Bak, they were able to approximate the performance of applications compiled with dart2js, performance native code JavaScript, and some tests even showed Dart’s advantage (eg. DeltaBlue). In general, high-speed operation is one of the priorities of the creators of the language, which has been from the beginning and continues to be the main goal. Thus, developers have managed to achieve the performance of the virtual machine Dart VM, at 42-130 % higher than the speed of the JavaScript engine V8.
To date, the Dart community has developed more than 500 packages, including popular among web developers AngularDart and polymer.dart. In addition to these libraries, developers can use JavaScript.
A number of companies has already started building applications with Dart, including Blossom, Montage, Soundtrap and Mandrill. It is also used by some Google units. Adobe, drone.io and JetBrains has also declared language support in their products as well.
Dart language was introduced in October, 2011. Since then, Google has sought for the new project participants and has been building the community of enthusiasts. But it also should be noticed that not everyone agreed to support Dart. For example, Microsoft announced that they would continue to participate in the development of JavaScript.
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