The latest tests with the Google Chrome web browser show that it features a faster JavaScript engine, which is increasingly important for running today’s complex web-based apps. A faster JavaScript engine results in faster-loading pages, more powerful apps and increased pressure on the other browser makers.
The JavaScript engine, named V8, is currently being upgraded to version 3, code-named Crankshaft. Chrankshaft features an adaptive compilation technique that translates JavaScript into native instructions for a processor. That enables it to focus more energy on improving bits of code which are used often.
Google programmers Kevin Millikin and Florian Schneider spoke about it in a company blog post yesterday, stating that “Crankshaft uses adaptive compilation to improve both start-up time and peak performance. The idea is to heavily optimize code that is frequently executed and not waste time optimizing code that is not.”
