The WebKit team is currently busy, integrating the patches made for Google Chrome into the main WebKit repository. This includes the new V8 JavaScript engine and the Skia graphics library. Most integration work is done by Google employee and WebKit reviewer Eric Seidel. V8 is a fast, BSD licensed JavaScript engine that runs on 32bit x86 and ARM CPUs. Due that platform restriction, V8 probably won't replace WebKit's new SquirrelFish engine anytime soon as default, because SquirrelFish has broader CPU architecture support. Epiphany developer and WebKit reviewer Alp Toker gives an overview about Skia. Unlike V8, Skia is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Some of Skia's main features are optional OpenGL-based acceleration, thread-safety, 10,000 less lines of code compared to Cairo, and high portability.
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Member since:2006-10-27
Member since:2005-07-06
In the foreseeable future: yes. Apple obviously wants a JavaScript engine that's also compatible with PowerPC and x86-64. This should also be true for Nokia/Trolltech (QtWebKit) and GNOME (GTKWebKit/Epiphany)
I also don't think that Apple wants to ship two different JS engines based on the device (eg. V8 on iPhone) because 100% compatibility between Safari for Mac/Win and Mobile Safari can't be guarantied.
I think that overall SquirrelFish is newer -- the first public "outing" was just earlier. Thus SquirrelFish is less optimized. So far V8 seems to perform better on platforms it supports.
Member since:
2005-06-29
Is this where Apple and Google will diverge?
Is there any particular reason why one is better than the other?