Abstract

Scalability and performance are the big challenges when implementing a JavaScript engine for a web browser. Google Chrome introduced the new JavaScript engine, V8, specifically to address these problems. Despite the dynamic nature of JavaScript, we found a way to apply classic object-oriented implementation techniques such as on-the-fly code generation, inline caching, precise generational garbage collection, and snapshotting. This talk will discuss these techniques, the lessons learned, and give an outlook on how far we can push scalability and performance for JavaScript.

Lars Bak is a Software Engineer in the Google Aarhus office. His passion for designing and implementing virtual machinesfor object-oriented languages has left marks on a few systems: Beta, Self, Strongtalk, Sun’s HotSpot and CLDC HI , OOVM Smalltalk, and V8. Since joining Google in 2006, Lars has been responsible for the design and implementation of V8. Lars received in 1988 an MS degree in computer science from Aarhus University.