Like TypeScript, Dart is a language aimed at making it easier to develop large, complex web applications that are efficient, secure, and maintainable. It compiles into JavaScript, so it can run in any modern web browser, but its syntax is designed to ameliorate some of JavaScript's more glaring flaws.
With the beta release, the Dart compiler produces JavaScript code that is up to 3.7 times smaller than that produced by earlier versions, according to a blog post announcing the update. The compiler also runs between 8 and 20 per cent faster when tested against benchmark code.
Performance of the Dart VM – a standalone virtual machine that can execute Dart code natively - without compiling it into JavaScript – has also been improved. The new version includes full SIMD acceleration, and can execute benchmark code as much as 40 per cent faster than previous releases.
Some of the biggest improvements in the beta, however, are to the Dart Editor. The new version features a rewritten code analysis engine that can parse code and locate potential problems 20 per cent faster than before.
The beta editor includes a number of new code refactoring options and new "quick fixes" for automatically resolving code issues. It also features new code completion options, such as the ability to detect "camel case" – so you can type "gN" and the editor will guess that you want a method called "getNext," for example.
In addition, a new "pub deploy" command pulls together all of an application's code and assets and packages them into a directory for easy deployment to a web server.
Source: The Register
