JScript Blog

PingBack from http://housesfunnywallpaper.cn/?p=1679

It's good to finally see an update on the JScript blog after so long. It feels like the forgotten/ignored language of Microsoft.

I'm curious to what direction ManagedJScript will go? Is the plan to be ES3+ compliant?

How will this correspond to the current state of the multiple differing implementations already being provided in the differing OSes? Will these differing branches ultimately be consolidated or some of them deprecated?

ManagedJScript

JScript.NET

JScript 5.7 WSH

Internet Explorer JScript

Classic ASP JScript

(ECMA-327)...Diet JScript?

Question 1: Will IE8 support a new level of JScript?

Question 2: If so which version of ECMAScript will it be based on?

Question 3: Regardless of ECMAScript version the biggest issue for Web Developers is IE's lack of following 2 critical DOM related issues. Properly supporting prototyping on Elements and properly supporting the DOM Event Listener methods.  Will these be fixed in IE8?

Congratulations on Harmony! I think it was the right decision.

I have two questions on ManagedJscript.

Question 1: Do you have a prediction on a release date for ManagedJscript.

Question 2: Is there already (or will there be) a way to run ManagedJscript from a console (like there is for IronRuby and IronPython)?

So far, the only containers for ManagedJScript that I have seen are ASPX and Silverlight.

We would like to use it for batch files.

Thank you

Andrew Csontos

Here is some inspiration for IE 8:

http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roadmap/archives/2008/08/tracemonkey_javascript_lightsp.html

"It's good to finally see an update on the JScript blog after so long. It feels like the forgotten/ignored language of Microsoft."

* That would be VBScript. It will be getting no new functionality, and last I read it was the Sustaining Engineering Team's responsibility. That's probably where it belongs, too :P.

"JScript 5.7 WSH, Internet Explorer JScript, Classic ASP JScript"

* Those are all the same thing, are they not? Are there different versions of JScript.DLL floating around for each of those? I thought WSH, ASP, and Internet Explorer were all merely host environments.

@TNO: Managed JScript is an implementation based on the published ECMAScript 3rd Edition Specification. By ES3+ (as you call it) if you are referring to a future revision to the ECMAScript standard, it is premature to make such a commitment; the definition of such an ES3+ is not yet complete. Nevertheless we are eager to hear your opinion and that of the community at large on such matters.

@Clark: Regarding the first two questions, JScript is based on the published ECMAScript 3rd Edition Specification. It is reasonable to assume that for the short term JScript in IE will continue to be based upon ECMAScript 3rd Edition. Compatibility between ECMAScript implementations within different browsers is a major issue for web applications developers and Microsoft wants to help minimize this problem. As the new revision to the ECMAScript standard, IE will try to provide timely support for it.

Regarding your third question, details regarding any support for DOM customization will be forthcoming through the various IE communication channels.

@Csontos: At the moment there is no way to run Managed JScript from a console. Regarding your mention of batch file, I am very interested in knowing more about the actual scenario.

@Les, @TNO: You are correct.

@Les

Depending on system setup you may indeed have these versions side by side. Do a quick search on your computer for the .dll's and compare the versions.

@Lakshman

In regards to ManagedJScript, of course the community at large expects continued ECMA compliance at a minimum otherwise its a waste of time. Isn't that the point in  participating in ES Harmony? Implementing a branched, noncompliant version of ES 3.1 (or whatever its designation will be) would alienate the JS hackers since they would have no confidence in their learned skill sets and habits with the language. I'd hate to see ManagedJScript turn into another JScript.NET, broken then abandoned...

Since the JScript team is committed to providing cross-browser language support, what is the road map for JScript 5.8 vs ManagedJScript? Is it parallel or planning to diverge?

Since the other mainstream browsers are now pushing JIT compilers, will the response be replacing JScript 5.8 with ManagedJScript since there are already compilers to MSIL? (Not expecting an answer on this one)

Csontos has a very interesting point. Right now we have available and JScript 5.7 in the WSH. A few years ago there was a mention of WSH.NET but that fell to the way side in favor of PowerShell. This leaves system admins and client side hackers who use this technology nowhere to go for new features except to learn a new language and have to port all their old code (JScript.NET was and is not the answer for this). Offering a client desktop compiler alternative for jsc.exe with the ManagedJScript compiler would be a major plus especially since there is a viable option now to actually have Visual Studio Support the language.

@TNO

That is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned a console container.

We have tons of WSF batch files written in JavaScript.  It would be great to have something like a WSH.NET so we could access to the .NET library and still reuse all or most of our existing code.