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Microsoft Open Sources Edge JavaScript Code, Plans Linux Port (windows.com)
colinneagle writes: One month after promising to release the JavaScript engine of its Edge browser, Microsoft has proven good for its word and then some. Not only is it releasing the code, it's planning a Linux port. The company uploaded the code to GitHub and announced its plans via a blog post by Gaurav Seth, principal PM manager for Chakra, which is what they're calling the JavaScript engine. "Today, we are excited to share with you that we've just made the sources for ChakraCore available under the MIT License at the ChakraCore GitHub repository," he wrote. "Going forward, we'll be developing the key components of Chakra in the open." With the release, you can build ChakraCore on Windows 7 SP1 or above with Visual Studio 2013 or 2015 with C++ support installed, Seth said. Of course, Edge is more than just the Chakra engine, but this could result in a back port to Windows 7. He also said Microsoft is committed to bringing it to other platforms, starting with Linux, and invited developers to "help us in the pursuit either by letting us know which other platforms they'd like to see ChakraCore supported on, or even by helping port it to the platform of their choice."
It's like the Slashdot of old, circa 2000 or so.
ooh!
Filter error: You can type more than that for your comment.
Well I could.
This story was just posted 6 hours ago, timmay. Bang up job as always!
FYI: Writing MicroSuck on everything makes you appear like a complete idiot.
So you've read every line of code in FireSux?
Exacly, its their evil plot to take over Linux. Must hate MS, love the google regardless how much they screw people over. MS always bad. (fwiw, if you can't detect the sarcasm here, please remove yourself from internet/genepool)
You can keep your stupid javascript engine. Instead, give people the ability to turn off telemetry completely, not just Enterprise users.
Smart, though definitely a market-following move. This leads to a microsoft-built open-source equivalent to node, which will make people who are used to the microsoft ecosystem or who want microsoft support to keep their clients happy seriously consider them for a whole host of project types.
The competition also means we can have some benchmarking competitions between the two javascript engines, which will inspire both to get a little better.
I hope someone rips your face off and feeds it to your family.
Especially since the proper spelling on Slashdot is Micro$oft.
Dupers are annoying, sure, but at least its understandable when something gets reposted a few days later. Maybe there are other source articles with fresh perspectives, for example. This one, however, is still on the front page (admittedly it is below the fold, so there's still room for "improvement"). I mean, really?
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
(In Mortal Kombat voice:) Let Zero Day's begin.... FIGHT! (/end sarcasm)
Select from tblFriends where interesting >= 4;
I've been using, supporting, and contributing to many open source software for decades. As much as I hate to say it, it's getting to the point where I trust Microsoft more than I trust many open source projects, especially the bigger ones.
Linux has become unusable for me now that all of the major distros include systemd by default. I had a lot of problems with it when it was first included in Debian. I know many others have had severe problems with it, too, given the number of complaints I see here and at so many other discussion venues. The Linux distro mailing lists and bug trackers that I follow are full of awful problems involving systemd.
You talk of "malware". Well given all of the trouble it has caused me, I consider systemd to be a form of malware. Yet every major Linux distro wants to force this malware on me! So I can no longer use Linux. I've never had systems running Windows 8 or Windows 10 fail to boot, while it has become a routine problem when using recent versions of the major Linux distros.
It's not much different for Firefox. What was once my favorite browser has become unrecognizable. The UI has been ruined, the browser itself has built-in ads, there are unwanted things like Pocket and Hello forced on me and so many other unwilling victims. Worst of all, Firefox's performance is still quite bad, and there are many bugs that haven't been fixed, even after years.
Then there's GNOME 3. I used GNOME 2 for many years and was very pleased with it. But GNOME 3 was unbelievably awful. It's worse than the UIs of Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, and I don't particularly like their UIs either.
I'll probably be accused of being a "shill", yet nobody is paying me to express these unfortunate truths. I don't want to use Microsoft's software, but these days it's way better than the open source alternatives. Windows is more reliable for me than Linux has been. Windows provides me a better desktop environment than GNOME 3 does. Edge has been a better browser for me than Firefox has been.
Open source software used to be consistently better than the proprietary or commercial alternatives, but those days appear to be long gone. Now it's like the developers of open source software go out of their way to make it worse, and I don't know why!
Al Gore will be happy!
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_...
Do you have ESP?
"help us in the pursuit either by letting us know which other platforms they'd like to see ChakraCore supported on, or even by helping port it to the platform of their choice."
How about, you just write portable fucking code!
Is there a need for yet another Javascript engine in the public domain? How this one distinguish itself from the others? I may understand the Microsoft motivation behind this, but I don't believe there is a huge interest from the community to participate. Why would someone decide to contribute to ChakraCore? Microsoft just hope the community will take care of it and make sure it behaves in sync with other engines increasing the compatibility of its browser engine with the others. Why not just implementing V8 in Microsoft Edge instead? Or SpiderMonkey?
Achille Talon
Hop!
No way in hell am I allowing any of MS's greasy tentacles onto any Linux box. I went to Linux to get away from their butt-rape business model.
Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!
Vote for Bernie in 2016!
The Linux community had better go over every single line of that code to make sure MicroSuck isn't slipping in some sort of malware/surveillance code, as they're wont to do. If it contains anything that can't be examined at the sourcecode level then it's into the trash with it. Or just ignore it anyway because it comes from MicroSuck, so how could it possibly be any good?
It's so true.
A decade or two ago the merit of open source was higher quality than proprietary software. Today that benefit has been lost, so the open source community has had to adopt "backdoorz everywhere, waaah!" as the new slogan.
How bad is it that, as bad as Windows 10 is, I switched to it from OSX after 5 years using that, having come from a split Linux/Windows environment previously? OSX used to fit my needs nicely, a desktop OS that stayed out of the way, was stable, provided a decent WM and a Unix-like shell, and generally just let me get work done; it's fallen far in the past few years.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Is this even [remotely] possible?
It will probably be looked at, mostly if you are going to port it to Linux, that you will need to De-Windows a lot of the methods. There are many fundemental differences towards proper windows development and Unix/Linux development.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
if you are going to port it to Linux, that you will need to De-Windows a lot of the methods
Not necessarily. You could just require SystemD.
I can't wait to not use Edge on another operating system!
Yeah sure they're such a great company now, forcing everyone to upgrade to Windows 10 whether they want it or not, countermanding settings you set specifically, installing 'updates' that amount to malware/spyware and calling it 'telemetry', etc etc etc. Or are all of you the 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' types, and furthermore think that Microsoft knows what's best and everyone should just shut up and do as they're told? What are you all even DOING on Slashdot, then? If you believe all that is right then how are you different from the average, non-technical consumer sheep that just use whatever is put in front of them and don't even know that the computer they bought isn't even really theirs, it's Microsofts', because they really have no control over it? Are you really going to call ME the 'troll' here, when Microsoft is the biggest troll in the room? Bull-fucking-shit. I used Windows since v3.1 and the worst complaints about it were dependability, but I even held an MCSE at one point and learned that the haters just didn't know how to manage it properly (for the most part) -- but now they go WAY too far, and I, the former more-or-less satisfied user says "ENOUGH!", and you call ME the troll? Fuck you all sideways with a rusty chainsaw, if you don't like what I have to say, but come correct: Microsoft is the villain here, not me.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
They have been bad so often in the past that it is difficult to believe that they are not up to no good this time.
They already have a port of office for Android which is based on linux.
Office is not ported to Android. It is ported to Android with Google Play. There's a difference.
I looked at Microsoft's publisher page on Amazon Appstore. OneNote and OneDrive were listed, but not Word. I searched briefly but could not find a legit copy of Microsoft Word for Android outside Google Play Store. And the only way to get a legit copy of Google Play Store is on a device that ships with it. This leaves users of Replicant, Fire OS, and other operating systems based on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) without access.
Now most desktop and laptop PCs running Linux run GNU/Linux with X11, not Android. Android is more common on tablets and phones. In theory, it would be possible to compile AOSP for x86 or x86-64 run it alongside GNU on top of Linux. But you wouldn't be able to install Word because it wouldn't have Google Play Store.
One of the problems is that a few groups in the application side of the Linux community have acquired a lot of influence. The factor common to these groups is that their goal seems to be to out-Windows Windows in Linux. What they have come up with so far is a pathetic copy of Windows ways. Anyway, you can steer clear of such individuals by using distributions like Slackware and desktops like XFCE. I am with you in the sense that, if the choice is between what these guys are pushing and Windows, more and Windows looks like a better choice. Fortunately, we are not there yet; but I can already see the day in which I will be dropping Linux for good, moving to FreeBSD.
Hmm. I posted something critical of the editors to this thread a few hours ago and now it's "missing", and I don't mean it's hidden as I know how the settings work. So now their censoring things critical of them, huh? Ok, that tears it.
If they ported edge to 7 and 8 it would go a long way to speeding it's adoption, particularly as an IE replacement. (Add in the fine grained group policy support like IE has and it would seal the deal)
Microsoft depreciating IE and phasing it out... We really are living in the future.
Tell me why you think it's wrong.
Gentoo user here! What is this systemd you speak of? It sounds truly awful.
Ok, I jest! I might try a systemd install in a vm just to see what it's like since Gentoo supports it, just not my Gentoo. Instead, I created a section in my package_mask.conf (Paludis user also) to permaban systemd, pulseaudio, and any other Poetteringware that may pop up.
But yeah, Firefox is unusable, so I bit the bullet and went to Chromium. Even in Windows, Firefox, goodness knows why or how, will spin up my CPU fan. Granted, it's a stock fan, but this is a 3 module (6 integer cores) Bulldozer for crying out loud! The only other things that do that are Star Citizen, Firefall, Fallout 4, and make -j7!
Let me add another complaint. WTF is with NetworkManager? Isn't all this crap intended to make Linux work with laptops and tablets better? I had to tear it out kicking and screaming from an install of BodhiLinux before the thing would reliably connect to my wireless.
That reminds me. Enlightenment E19 emerged to my Poettering-proofed Gentoo flawlessly. I heard they increased the level of systemd integration in E20, but I couldn't find an ebuild when I last went to look.
There is no altruism on Microsoft's part here, this is just an obvious ploy to compete against Node.JS.
The only newsworthy part here is that Nadella is clearly not innovative enough to move away from the same tired old Microsoft playbook of getting to the market years late with a bad copy of somebody elses already dominant product.
So if Microsoft has a browser running on Linux, the only reasonable expectation is that it will do the same thing. We know that other browsers enable this kind of behavior (Google, I'm looking at you), but given the Microsoft track record for bad behavior, it is bound to be completely horrible.
For example, I expect that it will install software without informing the user in any way. Also, you can bet that they will keep changing the default search engine to Bing, no matter what you set up. Expecting Microsoft to follow the rules in the open source world is like expecting a rattle snake to become a vegetarian. Not going to happen.
Don't think of Edge on Linux as a browser, think of it as a piece of spyware that will be sending every keystroke to Redmond while it uploads your private data and downloads even more malicious code to you machine.
Why is Snark Required?
But why would anyone in Linux land care if MS sees it as legitimate or not? It is, no matter what they think. This isn't MS throwing a bone, it's MS getting their ass in gear to remain competitive.
"Not only is it releasing the code, it's planning a Linux port."
Oh boy! I hope it's like Microsoft's Moonlight for Linux!
I did neither. I've been using Windows 10 since the first consumer preview release and Edge since it was first released in the CP. Edge has potential, but in its current state its definitely not good enough to make me switch to using it as my primary browser on Windows, Linux or whatever other OS it gets ported to. Lack of support for plug-ins, overly simplified UI and the hybrid search/address bar are enough for me to stay away at the moment.
Nothing sucks. You can push, you can pull, and you can create a vacuum. But nothing sucks.
That was a T-Shirt oft-worn my my afore mentioned DB Wizard. I don't know but about him, he was not forthcoming, but he was a very ugly man with a shock of red hair. The flip side was that he was a cross-dresser out of work and even came into work in his female persona a couple of times. He made a much better female than he made a male, as outward appearances went.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Change of heart? I think it was a passing hobo last time.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Wait, what? You did what? You're dead to me Brons!
No, not really. I actually don't give a rats ass what people use, so long as they're happy with it.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Well, sadly, I'm not happy with it. I miss the POSIX shell environment OS X provided and a Linux desktop is not an option as I have clients that send me PSDs and Fireworks PNGs that I need to be able to work with. Unless OS X returns to its former work-friendly state, Windows gains a proper POSIX shell (cygwin sort-of works), or Adobe releases their suite on Linux, I might find myself seeking a new field of work in order to maintain work-life happiness, as this is affected directly by the quality of the tools available to me and, sadly, that quality is lacking across the board lately.
I certainly hope that you, as one of the few remaining slashdotters for whom I hold some amount of respect, give a rat's ass (to use your own terminology) about the direction of computing, in general.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
I am less than thrilled with the lock-in, the dumbing down, and the push towards less ownership. Yet, at the same time, there's a slight change towards more openness and cross platform on the desktop. So, I'd not be to terribly surprised to see those tools getting cross-platform support, eventually. Eventually being the keyword. I suppose, if you want, there's the VM route if you're fairly beefy hardware.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Hardware's plenty beefy for a VM or ten, the problem then becomes workflow an I'm still not happy; I've tried it. Regarding Adobe, they promised Linux support years ago, then locked the forum thread in which the promise was made and have refused to comment in threads requesting Linux support for any of their creative tools (Flash Player is not a tool) ever since. Apple has pissed them off and, as a result, Windows versions of their apps now get more optimization. I think it would take Microsoft pissing them off to even get the ball legitimately rolling on Linux versions, and I think Microsoft knows that Adobe is one of the main reasons many web dev types even touch Windows (or OS X, for that matter) and they aren't retarded (enough to piss off Adobe, at least). And even then, that ball has some considerable distance to roll if its destination is a usable and stable suite of professional creative applications running under Linux. I may only be in my 30's, but I'll be retired before we possibly see that, unless they've been working on it, in earnest, since the day it was promised.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
I am afraid you're likely right. Which leads me to think that there may end up, at some point, an OS singularity. That frightens me more than anything,
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Given that computers, and my ability to make them do precisely what I want, have been my security blanket since I was 5, such an event may drive me into a deep depression. I've started focusing on the other engineering disciplines I was raised around, as I do see the writing on the wall where many others refuse to even look; hoefully I can remember as much EE as I knew whem I was 10, then go back to school for the rese (and the requisite degree).
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
You do know that the phrase "someone is wont to do something" is proper English? ("wont" is an adjective meaning "likely")
I'd say, hold on to some old hardware. If for no other reason than just to have it on hand - in case.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."