Javascript: Pre-version of Mozilla Firefox holds up against Google Chrome
Google touts its Javascript engine version 8, among other things, as setting new speed records for its Chrome browser. Linux Magazine found during a benchmark test that the next Firefox generation can keep up with it.
As Javascript expert John Resig of the Mozilla Corporation informs us in his blog, Mozilla developers can currently benefit from its new homegrown script engine. Known by its codename TraceMonkey, it supposedly leaves the previous SpiderMonkey engine in the dust through its Just In Time (JIT) compiling to native code in terms of processing JavaScript code.
We used a small JavaScript benchmark, SunSpider 0.9 from the WebKit team, to test Google’s Chrome beta against the newest nightly build of the Firefox 3.1 in development, code name Minefield. The JIT compilation was activated with JavaScript variable javascript.options.jit.content. For lack of a workable Linux version of the Chrome browser (installation attempts under Wine ended within a second), Windows Vista was used instead, with an Intel Core2 dual processor of 2.20 GHz and 4 GB RAM.
The editorial staff ran a benchmark of a nightly Firefox 3.l “Minefield” build against Google Chrome.
The result: Both JavaScript engines ran in a virtual tie, with the Google product slightly ahead, perhaps faster by 15 percent, not a substantial Chrome lead, considering the margin of error inherent in the SunSpider test. Significant differences emerged, however, in performing certain tasks: Chrome did better with 3D and crypto tasks; Firefox with strings, regex, and math. The German sister publication Linux Magazin Online provides the test results as a download.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
ESET Discovers New Linux Malware
WolfsBane is an all-in-one malware that has hit the Linux operating system and includes a dropper, a launcher, and a backdoor.
-
New Linux Kernel Patch Allows Forcing a CPU Mitigation
Even when CPU mitigations can consume precious CPU cycles, it might not be a bad idea to allow users to enable them, even if your machine isn't vulnerable.
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.5 Released
Notify your friends, loved ones, and colleagues that the latest version of RHEL is available with plenty of enhancements.
-
Linux Sees Massive Performance Increase from a Single Line of Code
With one line of code, Intel was able to increase the performance of the Linux kernel by 4,000 percent.
-
Fedora KDE Approved as an Official Spin
If you prefer the Plasma desktop environment and the Fedora distribution, you're in luck because there's now an official spin that is listed on the same level as the Fedora Workstation edition.
-
New Steam Client Ups the Ante for Linux
The latest release from Steam has some pretty cool tricks up its sleeve.
-
Gnome OS Transitioning Toward a General-Purpose Distro
If you're looking for the perfectly vanilla take on the Gnome desktop, Gnome OS might be for you.
-
Fedora 41 Released with New Features
If you're a Fedora fan or just looking for a Linux distribution to help you migrate from Windows, Fedora 41 might be just the ticket.
-
AlmaLinux OS Kitten 10 Gives Power Users a Sneak Preview
If you're looking to kick the tires of AlmaLinux's upstream version, the developers have a purrfect solution.
-
Gnome 47.1 Released with a Few Fixes
The latest release of the Gnome desktop is all about fixing a few nagging issues and not about bringing new features into the mix.
Google
Anyway, it is good news that Firefox will have parity in Javascript engine speed.
Good stuff