When the king of search engines speaks, the tech world listens.\u00a0 When it announces that it’s going to start speaking in a new language, though, the tech world gets a little concerned.<\/p>\n
Such is the story of Google Dart<\/a>.\u00a0 Early information about the new programming language was leaked a month ago.\u00a0 What raised concerns in the IT world, though, was an internal memo stating that Google had the long term goal of using Dart to replace Javascript<\/a>.\u00a0 To a programmer, that’s not too far removed from hearing that someone has the long-term goal of replacing English.<\/p>\n Google stepped back a bit and stated that there’s no reason that Javascript has to be headed to the trash bin.\u00a0 In all fairness, what was posted was likely just optimism about its acceptance as opposed to antagonism against Javascript or anything else.\u00a0 Given the programming world’s reaction, that’s a good thing.\u00a0 Not only is Javascript largely considered to be thriving, but some feel that it is more relevant than ever.<\/p>\n The only constant is change<\/strong><\/p>\n Nevertheless, Google has stated that there are problems with Javascript that are too ingrained in its design to be fixed from within.\u00a0 Given its age (it was introduced when Bill Clinton was in his first term), it’s reasonable to suppose that a lot about it might not be keeping up with the times, especially given the recent explosion of portable viewing platforms.<\/p>\n Moreover, Google is now about as famous for its alternate services like Google Earth as it is for its search engine.\u00a0 Even a modest increase in efficiency in the programming back-ends used by these services alone would have a multiplier effect that’s hard to even calculate.\u00a0 For the rest of the web, Google is helping the transition by releasing a compiler that will translate Dart code into Javascript for any browser or application that is not yet capable of running it.<\/p>\n What are the goals of Dart?<\/strong><\/p>\n On their technical specifications sheet, Google outlines the following objectives for the Dart programming language:<\/p>\n Also listed in this document are the specific programming problems Dart attempts to address.\u00a0 Paraphrased here, they are:<\/p>\n OK, those seem like good ideas.\u00a0 What does the audience have to say?<\/strong><\/p>\n From our surveying, the biggest problem that the IT world has with this new programming language is its mere existence.\u00a0 The fact that Google has done work to make sure it can be plugged in as many places as possible right from the start doesn’t seem to have mollified them.\u00a0 This is one more language to learn, and who knows whether or not the time invested in it will be well spent.<\/p>\n The next biggest concern after that was with Google’s approach to its development.\u00a0 Working with the greater community in developing standards is at this point considered both wise and honorable.\u00a0 Google says that it is going to, but the initial development sketches and basic coding structures were authored in-house, outside the view of third-party eyes.\u00a0 Google defended this position, stating that it was necessary to make sure that initial plans didn’t spin too far out into chaos.<\/p>\n A worrisome feelin<\/strong><\/p>\n This doesn’t dull the feeling that some are getting that Google is becoming another Microsoft, creating \u201cstandards\u201d that it single-handedly pushes onto the world.\u00a0 Given that Google is about as big as Microsoft, it’s hard to see this worry as unwarranted.<\/p>\n Is it fair, though?\u00a0 That’s a more difficult case to make.\u00a0 As much as Google has done some things that have not sat well with the internet world, the general consensus is that it has never strayed too far from its \u201cDon’t be evil\u201d motto.\u00a0 Recall recently, for example, their decision to pull out of China in protest over that government’s information control requirements.<\/p>\n Our verdict: Worth a look<\/strong><\/p>\n The bottom line is that, like it or not, Google now maintains a position in which, if they determine that something needs to be changed on the web, and they put the effort into doing it, it’s a good bet that they’ll succeed.\u00a0 Gmail replaced Hotmail, Google Maps<\/a> replaced Mapquest, Chrome is replacing Mozilla, and Google+<\/a> is making a serious bid to replace the mighty Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let’s also remember that no one has actually worked with this language yet.\u00a0 The devil is in the details.\u00a0 It may be that when all is said and done, Dart becomes as beloved as, say, Perl.\u00a0 One thing is for certain, though, and that is that Google is putting a lot of energy into Dart’s development and release.\u00a0 If they say that Dart has the potential to replace Javascript, it’s ill-advised to not consider that they might be right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the king of search engines speaks, the tech world listens.\u00a0 When it announces that it’s going to start speaking in a new language, though, the tech world gets 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