Javascript's God Mode : one language to rule them all. Code everything, everywhere, for everything, in JavaScript.
No VM. No Bytecode. No packaging. No Garbage Collector. Fully compiled to native binaries.
Table of contents
- What is NectarJS
- Efficiency
- EcmaScript Support
- Main objectives
- Install
- Using Native Compiler
- Starting with compilation
- Using Compiler Environmants
- Android Compilation
- iOS Compilation
- Arduino Compilation
- STM32 Compilation
- Compatibility Targets / Platforms
- Stores
- Actively Tested For
What is NectarJS
NectarJS is a JavaScript native compiler.
NectarJS is able to compile native apps for: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Raspberry, STM32 and more.
NectarJS aims to make JavaScript universal.
NectarJS is in active development, join us on Discord on IRC if you need more information.
NectarJS roadmap is on Trello
NectarJS Quick Start documentation
NectarJS Quick Hack documentation
NectarJS Full documentation is here (WIP) : NectarJS Doc
Efficiency
Some benchmarks with the file example/fibo.js and differents fibos arguments:
| NodeJS v12.8.1 | QuickJS 2020-07-05 | NectarJS v0.6.104 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| fibo(30) | 0.15s / 7.0Mb | 0.20s / 1.1Mb | 0.04s / 1.0Mb |
| fibo(40) | 1.80s / 7.0Mb | 21.06s / 1.1Mb | 0.04s / 1.0Mb |
| fibo(45) | 19.44s / 7.0Mb | 238.85s / 1.1Mb | 0.04s / 1.0Mb |
EcmaScript Support
NectarJS already supports more than 80% of ES3.
Array
-
.length
-
.push(value)
Class
-
constructor
-
methods
-
static methods
Console
- .log(variadic)
JSON
-
.parse(str)
-
.stringify(obj)
Math
-
.E
-
.LN2
-
.LOG2E
-
.LOG10E
-
.PI
-
.SQRT1_2
-
.SQRT2
-
.abs
-
.acos
-
.acosh
-
.asin
-
.asinh
-
.atan
-
.atanh
-
.atan2
-
.cbrt
-
.ceil
-
.clz32
-
.cos
-
.cosh
-
.exp
-
.expm1
-
.floor
-
.fround
-
.hypot
-
.imul
-
.log
-
.log1p
-
.log10
-
.log2
-
.max
-
.min
-
.pow
-
.random
-
.round
-
.sign
-
.sin
-
.sinh
-
.sqrt
-
.tan
-
.tanh
-
.trunc
-
.toString
Object
- .keys
performance
-
timeOrigin
-
.now()
String
* .length * .toString() * .indexOf(needle) * .lastIndexOf(needle) * .search(needle) * .slice(start, end) * .substring(start, end) * .substr(start, end) * .replace(needle, str)
Syntax
-
for
-
while / do while
-
if / else if / else
-
try / catch / finally
-
function / lambda
-
class
-
new
-
typeof
-
instanceof
-
undefined
-
null
-
Infinite
-
NaN / isNaN
-
true / false
Main objectives
- Supporting EcmaScript 3 standard (then 5, 6 ...)
- Supporting NodeJS and NPM ecosystem
- Supporting a maximum of platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Arduino, ...)
- Being secure
- Embeding debuging tools
- Compile everything that can be transpiled in JS : Ruby (Opal), Python (Transcript, Brython, JavaScrypthon), TypeScript ...
Install
npm install -g nectarjs
Using native compiler
- You need to have GCC installed on your machine and registered in your path to compile.
Testing your installation
You can test your installation by running npm run njs_test
You can also test ES3 support with npm run es3_test
Windows
You can install Mingw for Windows here : https://osdn.net/projects/mingw/downloads/68260/mingw-get-setup.exe/
You can also install Linux for Windows and use a linux system on Windows
Linux / FreeBSD
On Linux or FreeBSD, you can install it with your distro (apt install gcc, yum install gcc, ...). You can use GCC, CLANG, or any derivative of those compilers (arm-gcc ...)
Apple iOS
You can install xCode and you are ready.
First compilation
nectar -b native file.js
or
nectar file.js
You can select a preset (speed or size):
nectar file.js --preset [speed|size]
You can also run the compiled executable just after compilation using --run:
nectar file.js --run
You can enable the quiet mode with --quiet:
nectar file.js --quiet
Starting with compilation
The simplest way to use NectarJS is :
nectar file.js
The output file name will be automatically chosen regarding the target. You can specify another output with -o something.out
To show more compilation infos :
nectar --verbose file.js
Changing the stack size (usefull on Windows) :
nectar --stack 10000000 flood.js
For more informations about compilation output, use --verbose
For help, use --help
Using compiler environments
NectarJS supports various compilation env:
- std
- node
- arduino
- wasm
- android
To compile a file using an env, you can use the --env switch :
nectar arduino-led.js --env arduino --target mega2560
Android compilation
First step, you have to install Android SDK and Android NDK.
Second step, you need to setup NectarJS with the paths of the SDK and the NDK :
nectar --setsdk path_to_sdk --setndk path_to_ndk
You can show your configuration with: nectar --config
Third step: compile your JS app for Android using :
nectar file.js --env android
The result file is an Android APK.
You can select your target with --target release|debug.
Need: SDK Android-19 and Android-28 NDK: tested with NDK 21
iOS compilation
You need Xcode to be able to compiler applications with NectarJS.
To compile a iOS app, select the iOS env with the flag --env ios :
nectar app.js --env ios
You can also target a plateform for running simulation :
nectar app.js --env ios --target 'iPhone-8, 13.5' --run
NectarJS will then compile your app and launch it with the simulator.
To test your configuration, you can compile example/ios.js app.
Arduino compilation
To compile an Arduino firmware, you need a recent avr-gcc compiler that supports c++17 (8 or 10 for example).
You can download it here: https://blog.zakkemble.net/avr-gcc-builds/
Once done, compile your code by selecting the arduino env, and choosing a target:
nectar example/arduino-led.js --env arduino --target nano
You can select a preset (speed or size) with:
--preset speed or --preset size
You can then flash the new firmware to a connected board with --flash
STM32 compilation
To compile SMT32 firmware with NectarJS, you need first to instal mbed-cli and to setup your environment:
https://os.mbed.com/docs/mbed-os/v6.0/build-tools/install-and-set-up.html
Once done, compile your code by selecting the stm32 env, and choosing a target:
nectar example/stm32.js --env stm32 --target NUCLEO_F446RE
You can select a preset (speed or size) with:
--preset speed or --preset size
Compatibility targets/platforms
-
All supported GCC platforms
-
All supported Clang platforms
-
All supported AVR-GCC platforms
Stores
NectarJS compiled apps are tested to be publishable on :
Actively tested for
-
android
-
wasm
-
asm-js
-
wast
-
mac-osx
-
linux-x86-32
-
linux-x86-64
-
linux-arm32v7
-
win-x86-32
-
win-x86-64
-
Sun OS
-
arduino-nano
-
arduino-uno
-
arduino-mega1280
-
arduino-mega2560
-
nucleo-l152re
-
nucleo-l432kc
-
nucleo-f446re
