According to Google software engineer Emily Fortuna, the company is almost ready to release version 1.0 of the Dart programming language. Dart offers an alternative to JavaScript and includes features like method cascades and named arguments. So far, only Chrome offers native support for the language, but Fortuna adds, “We can compile to JavaScript, so we do have the support for any browser.”
In addition to its work on Dart, Google is also readying the next version of its Google Web Toolkit (GWT), the company’s set of tools for building browser-based applications. Version 3.0 will launch next year and promises faster performance, as well as a number of bug fixes. Google’s Ray Cromwell said they plan to continue developing both Dart and GWT: “Dart’s not replacing GWT or vice versa.”
