[dart-misc] Dart Browser Plugin

[Jan Mostert]

I'm curious, is it possible to have a dart VM in the browser simply by
creating a browser plugin like Flash has been doing for many years?

Or is there a lot more to it?

[Joao Pedrosa]

Hi,

The reason it is a tough sell nowadays is that mobile is the major
deployment platform, which is itself being followed up by the "internet of
things".

One of the disadvantages of platforms that go closer to the metal like
Flash did is that they are harder to secure and they don't play well with
being sandboxed in larger platforms such as the browser itself.

0-day vulnerabilities where an attacker would have perhaps weeks before the
platforms would be patched to plug the hole are all too common. To mitigate
it, platforms need to strive for security from the get-go and they need to
be quick to patch the system when they have to. For instance, our modern
TVs that are running browsers and stuff have to update their systems to at
least stay secure, and their systems are not even open to third parties.

There is a gentlemen agreement among the major market forces to keep their
systems as secure as possible while allowing the governments to eavesdrop
on their citizens as required by their national security agencies. There is
a balance that they need to follow. If they allowed for unrestrained
freedom to developers, everything would be harder to secure and to
standardize.

They cannot rock the boat too much. At the end of the day they also fear
antitrust regulations. By inter-operating, they reduce their liabilities.
:-)

With all of that being said, JavaScript has been a fortunate accident.
Language developers don't always know what makes languages like JavaScript
long-lived, so they cannot always replicate them. I think one of the
answers is that the languages need great backward compatibility so they
have to forfeit incompatible changes. As Lars Bak said of JavaScript,
JavaScript treats errors as "keep on trucking." But it also means that the
JavaScript code gives the benefit of doubt to code that could run despite
some brokenness. Most language developers don't want to replicate features
like those. :-)

Cheers,
Joao

Post by Jan Mostert
I'm curious, is it possible to have a dart VM in the browser simply by
creating a browser plugin like Flash has been doing for many years?
Or is there a lot more to it?
--
For other discussions, see https://groups.google.com/a/dartlang.org/
For HOWTO questions, visit http://stackoverflow.com/tags/dart
To file a bug report or feature request, go to http://www.dartbug.com/new
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Dart Misc" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

[Jan Mostert]

Thanks Joao, so it is possible at least on the desktop, maybe not mobile
and not feasible due to the same severity problems that have plagued Flash.

Post by Joao Pedrosa
Hi,
The reason it is a tough sell nowadays is that mobile is the major
deployment platform, which is itself being followed up by the "internet of
things".
One of the disadvantages of platforms that go closer to the metal like
Flash did is that they are harder to secure and they don't play well with
being sandboxed in larger platforms such as the browser itself.
0-day vulnerabilities where an attacker would have perhaps weeks before
the platforms would be patched to plug the hole are all too common. To
mitigate it, platforms need to strive for security from the get-go and they
need to be quick to patch the system when they have to. For instance, our
modern TVs that are running browsers and stuff have to update their systems
to at least stay secure, and their systems are not even open to third
parties.
There is a gentlemen agreement among the major market forces to keep their
systems as secure as possible while allowing the governments to eavesdrop
on their citizens as required by their national security agencies. There is
a balance that they need to follow. If they allowed for unrestrained
freedom to developers, everything would be harder to secure and to
standardize.
They cannot rock the boat too much. At the end of the day they also fear
antitrust regulations. By inter-operating, they reduce their liabilities.
:-)
With all of that being said, JavaScript has been a fortunate accident.
Language developers don't always know what makes languages like JavaScript
long-lived, so they cannot always replicate them. I think one of the
answers is that the languages need great backward compatibility so they
have to forfeit incompatible changes. As Lars Bak said of JavaScript,
JavaScript treats errors as "keep on trucking." But it also means that the
JavaScript code gives the benefit of doubt to code that could run despite
some brokenness. Most language developers don't want to replicate features
like those. :-)
Cheers,
Joao

Post by Jan Mostert
I'm curious, is it possible to have a dart VM in the browser simply by
creating a browser plugin like Flash has been doing for many years?
Or is there a lot more to it?

--

Post by Jan Mostert
For other discussions, see https://groups.google.com/a/dartlang.org/
For HOWTO questions, visit http://stackoverflow.com/tags/dart
To file a bug report or feature request, go to http://www.dartbug.com/new
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Dart Misc" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

--
For other discussions, see https://groups.google.com/a/dartlang.org/
For HOWTO questions, visit http://stackoverflow.com/tags/dart
To file a bug report or feature request, go to http://www.dartbug.com/new
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Dart Misc" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an