> Will we have to explain to our grandchildren why they can only write code in some flavor of Javascript?

No, because while JavaScript is the "common" language of the web, its not the only language you can code in on the web -- there are plenty of implementations of other languages with it as a compilation target.

The value of having a guaranteed-to-be-everywhere target language for the web, even if it isn't the preferred development language of every developer, are fairly obvious.

> Mozilla's mission to protect the web from all languages but Javascript is locking us into a future where there will be no choice and nothing better than Javascript

As long as JavaScript keeps getting better -- and, particularly, as long as it is spurred on in that by efforts which propose alternative standard languages for the web with compelling stories so that JS has to keep moving forward in order to be acceptable as the universal, guaranteed target language -- that's fine. "Nothing better than JavaScript" isn't a real limitation if JavaScript is a moving target.

> "Nothing better than JavaScript" isn't a real limitation if JavaScript is a moving target

JS is only a "moving target" in the sense that stuff is being added to it. If you could make a perfect language by just adding things, then we'd be fine.

But the nature of the language itself is not going to change, because that would break backwards compatibility. The type system, prototype inheritance, `this`, type coercions, etc. There are plenty of undesirable things in JS which we're stuck with (unless we break compatibility, in which case it might as well be a different language).

>>No, because while JavaScript is the "common" language of the web, its not the only language you can code in on the web -- there are plenty of implementations of other languages with it as a compilation target.

Yes. If you prefer low-level programming, then write C++ and compile it to Javascript: http://leaningtech.com/duetto/

You can have your low-level cake and eat your high-level Javascript too.

They either have to bring SIMB to every language or to none at all?

They want to improve web application performance. JavaScript is the only language that works on the web. So they are bringing it to JavaScript. That doesn't mean they won't bring it to other languages in the future.

It doesn't make sense to improve HTML5 game performance by bringing SIMD to Lua or Python.

This is a blogpost by someone at Intel, showing SIMD speedups in Firefox and Chrome. I don't understand why you're using it to criticize JavaScript?

Because the more effort put into improving JavaScript performance, the more entrenched something terrible yet ubiquitous becomes, and the less chance we get of replacing it with something that is not a cyclopean horror?

Personally, I think its a good thing that JS gets SIMD support -- since Dart has it, and it would be better if the discussion over whether a new standard language to replace JS was needed was over language fundamentals, not one competitor or the other missing useful features that aren't part of the fundamental language structure.

Plus, Dart will be able to use SIMD support when compiling to JavaScript :)

I don't think it's reasonable to avoid improving something because it might then be less likely to be replaced. We do need improvements right now.

The only way around the problem you raise is to make something truly better, and convince people to use it instead.

Haha wow. It's just a programming language. == vs === got you tripped up?

SIMD will be available for .NET => Python.NET.

PS: this is called "open web" - locking everything and everyone to one language to try and halt innovation.

You can always escape the "JavaScript lock-in" with a compile-to-JavaScript language. Thanks to asm.js and related performance improvements, you can even compile a "JavaScript binary" that looks nothing like vanilla JavaScript but is still fast.

For python, can't you use SIMD by way of C extensions?

Huh? If JavaScript the compiler target supports SIMD, your SIMD-supporting language can make use of that.

Dart will do that. Python, Haskell, or whatever are free to do the same.

I think he is talking about real support and not crappy transpilation.

I don't see how that would be related to SIMD support in JavaScript.