Browser JavaScript Alternatives

The cluster discusses frustrations with JavaScript's dominance in web browsers and advocates for alternatives like other languages, virtual machines, bytecodes, or native code execution to enhance flexibility and performance.

📉 Falling 0.5x Web Development
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Keywords

JIT JS ARM ocallahan.org WASM WebBrowser LLVM VM ONLY CLR browser javascript browsers language js bytecode vm python native web browsers

Sample Comments

xxs Jan 28, 2022 View on HN

you can make a browser - but it won't have a JIT for javascript, rendering it useless.

jimbob45 Jun 21, 2020 View on HN

Is there a reason we can ONLY use JavaScript in the browser? The world would immediately become better if we added a different language compiler on in instead.

roarroar Oct 2, 2013 View on HN

Too bad. The browser is becoming general purpose with asm.js, WebGL etc. You can't hold back progress.

fleaaaa Oct 7, 2021 View on HN

Wish the same thing as an webdev, but modern browser is almost a small vm these days..

popcalc Jul 23, 2024 View on HN

Philosophically opposed to the browser as a code execution platform.

marcosdumay Oct 23, 2018 View on HN

Because JS runs on the browser, so anything else is less portable.

colordrops Apr 29, 2017 View on HN

Why does it matter if it's in your browser or not? The browser is just a fancy runtime.

fungos Jan 11, 2016 View on HN

Good thing browsers aren't written in javascript.

disqard May 29, 2024 View on HN

Does this contain a JS interpreter, or is it a cross-platform wrapper around OS-provided browser libraries?

chrisrodrigue Apr 28, 2025 View on HN

Web browsers are just glorified JavaScript interpreters. Making Python a first-class citizen in the browser would be sweet.