Subj : Re: ECMAScript standards committee
To   : netscape.public.mozilla.jseng
From : zwetan
Date : Wed Oct 20 2004 03:27 pm

> ...
> > right now the only easy way to produce an exe with JS
> > is to use JScript.NET (yep even in classic mode, /fast-).
>
> This is not true: you can use Rhino JVM class compiler + GCJ to produce
> executables on any platform where GCJ is available. Since all the
> necessary steps can be done in a simple shell script, I do not think it
> is a hard way.
>

ok, I have expressed myself badly

"easy way to produce an exe" is somewhat very subjective

what I meant was if you want to produce un exe application
targeting windows, but from an user point of view knowing only JS

..NET:
jsc /fast- /out:blah.exe blah.js
then
click the exe to run the app

Java: (rhino's JSC)
$ java org.mozilla.javascript.tools.jsc.Main blah.js
then (still in the console)
$ java blah

for .NET after the compilation
you just have to warn your user to have
the .NET framework installed

for Java after you got your class/bytecode generated
you need to do more work to produce an exe,
for exemple use swt-win32
and also warn your user to have the Java RunTime installed


JScript.NET for me is easier because you don't switch language context
you write JS, you compile JS and done

with Rhino's JSC
you write JS, you compile to Java
then you have to switch to Java language to produce an executable

the difference is not big, but if in the first place JS target "no-expert"
developpers, providing them simple tool imho must be a goal too.
targeting mass users and targeting geek using command-line tools and Java is
not te same.

when you see that http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/
sure they think to target mass users.

me, I'm just wondering with all the people using javascript (because it's
easy to use)
why there's not an easy-to-use JS compiler from mozilla, perharps I'm wrong
but I'm sure it would be far more adopted by mass users than VS express,
I don't know perharps something in the vein of a XUL+JS compiler
or something like this project: http://wxjs.sourceforge.net/

zwetan

.