JavaScript has been used as a client side language for over 20 years and as a server side language for close to 10. In the past 3 years, JavaScript has emerged as a language of choice for mobile app developers, especially those looking for a cross-platform solution. Technology stacks such as React Native and Tabris.js are the obvious choices, but some engineers are rolling their...
Read MoreCode signing and verification is the process of digitally signing executables or scripts to ensure that the software you are executing has not been altered since it was signed. Code signing helps protect against corrupt artifacts, process breakdown (accidentally delivering the wrong thing) and even malicious intents. We have recently started implementing code verification in J2V8. Code verification has been implemented in the native code using OpenSSL. Code...
Read MoreMemory management in J2V8 has never been easy. Because J2V8 bridges V8 and Java, three different memory models are in play. Both Java and JavaScript provide a managed memory model with their own GC. JNI / C++ which sits in the middle is completely unmanaged. This leads to a complex situation since both JavaScript and Java will free memory if they think it's unused, but...
Read MoreWhen J2V8 was first released, all callbacks from JavaScript to Java required a registered Java method. That is, all Java methods that you wished to invoke had to be first registered with J2V8. For some applications this was fine, but it made for a complex programming model. Furthermore you could not use anonymous inner classes or Java 8 lambdas. With J2V8 4, this has changed. J2V8...
Read MoreLast week I finally published the Node.js bindings for Java. These bindings allow developers to embed the Node.js runtime directly onto the JVM through the Java Native Interface. In March I gave a pre-release presentation at EclipseCon on this work, which was recorded by InfoQ. You can check it out at: https://www.infoq.com/presentations/node4j-nodejs-java. The slides are also available on SlideShare....
Read MoreWhen J2V8 was first released, all Java characters passed between Java and V8 were converted to 8bit C-Style strings. For many applications this was just fine, but if your JavaScript contained 16 bit Unicode characters, then you were hosed. https://twitter.com/waynebeaton/status/757609271496286208 With J2V8 4 this has been fixed. All strings are now referenced as uint16_t in C++. Using the JNI API we were able to get the 2 byte string...
Read MoreWhen J2V8 was first released, all Java characters passed between Java and V8 were converted to 8bit C-Style strings. For many applications this was just fine, but if your JavaScript contained 16 bit Unicode characters, then you were hosed. https://twitter.com/waynebeaton/status/757609271496286208 With J2V8 4 this has been fixed. All strings are now referenced as uint16_t in C++. Using the JNI API we were able to get the 2 byte string...
Read MoreJ2V8 provides the technology to link V8 and Node.js with the JVM. Using JNI, Java developers can directly call V8 and Node.js APIs. This seamless integration brings improved JavaScript performance, NPM modules and the Node.js APIs to the Java ecosystem. An alternative approach could have been to invoke two separate processes (Java and Node.js) with a service protocol between them. However, one of the advantages of the single...
Read MoreAfter over a year of development, I am very excited to announce that J2V8 4 is publicly available on all supported platforms. J2V8 is a set of V8 bindings for Java. This means that you can embed V8 (Google's ultra fast JavaScript engine) into your Java applications. J2V8 4 is built on Node.js, which means you can also integrate Node.js with the JVM (On Windows, Mac and...
Read MoreGone are the days of single vendor lock-in, where one technology stack is used across an entire organization. Even small organizations and hobbyists will find themselves mixing technologies in a single project. For years, Java reigned king on the server. Today Node.js is everywhere. But even with the rise of Node.js and popularity of JavaScript, Java continues to shine. Furthermore, few organizations can afford to migrate...
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