Dart (programming language)

Dart

Appeared in	2011
Developer	Google
Preview release	0.05[1] (November 16, 2011; 6 days ago (2011-11-16))
Typing discipline	optional
Influenced by	CoffeeScript,[citation needed] Java, JavaScript, Strongtalk[citation needed]
Usual filename extensions	.dart
Website	www.dartlang.org

Dart (originally called Dash)^[2] is a Web programming language developed by Google. It was unveiled at the GOTO conference in Aarhus, 2011 October 10-12.^[3] The goal of Dart is "ultimately to replace JavaScript as the lingua franca of web development on the open web platform."^[2]

Reason for a new language

Dart is intended to solve JavaScript's problems (which, according to a leaked memo, cannot be solved by evolving the language) while offering better performance, the ability "to be more easily tooled for large-scale projects" and better security features.^[2] Google will offer a cross compiler that compiles Dart to ECMAScript 3 on the fly, for compatibility with non-Dart browsers. There will also be a facility to convert typed Closure code to Dart.^[4] Google will also integrate a native VM into Chrome and encourage competitors to do the same with their browsers. The Dart VM and Dart Cross Compiler could be available in late 2011.

Compilers

dartc compiles Dart to plain JavaScript. Frog is a new Dart compiler written in Dart; while it does not yet have all the capabilities of dartc, it generates much more optimized code.^[5]

Example

The famous Hello World example:^[6]

main() {
    print('Hello World!');
}

A function to calculate the nth Fibonacci number:

int fib(int n) {
    return (n <= 1) ? n : (fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2));
}
 
main() {
    print('fib(20) = ${fib(20)}');
}

See also

• HaXe
• Opa

References

1. ^ "Dart Programming Language Specification". http://www.dartlang.org/docs/spec/dartLangSpec.pdf. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Future of Javascript" doc from our internal "JavaScript Summit" last week - Leaked internal Google email
3. ^ Presentation: "Opening Keynote: Dart, a new programming language for structured web programming" - GOTO Aarhus 2011 conference. Planned official presentation of the Dart language, on October 10.
4. ^ Google Dart to “ultimately ... replace JavaScript”
5. ^ TurboManage: Dart-to-JS compilation with Frog
6. ^ Another Hello World example hosted in Github

External links

• Official website
  • In-browser Dart editor and compiler for testing
• Presentation: "Opening Keynote: Dart, a new programming language for structured web programming" - GOTO Aarhus 2011 conference. Planned official presentation of the Dart language, on October 10.
• "Future of Javascript" doc from our internal "JavaScript Summit" last week - Leaked internal Google email.
• Infoq on Google Dart's feature set
• A Walk on the Dart Side: A Quick Tour of Dart — lecture given at Stanford University by Google software engineer, Gilad Bracha (video archive). The lecture on YouTube, a transcription
• Comments on Google's Dart at Lambda the Ultimate
• Dart Experience
• Google Dart to “ultimately ... replace JavaScript”
• Dart News