Google previews its Dart language

Clean break from JavaScript?

Google has revealed the first developer preview of a programming language it is targeting at the creation of structured web applications.

Details of Google's strategy for the language first emerged in a leaked internal memo that was published to the web about three weeks ago.

The memo detailed a "two-pronged strategy for the future of JavaScript". It said that JavaScript in its current form is not viable in the long-term.

Google suggested "evolving" JavaScript but also working on a "clean break" by pushing "for a new language that addresses core problems in JavaScript that can't be repaired easily or quickly".

The internal memo used the codename Dash to describe this clean break. It has since been renamed Dart.

Google Dart team software engineer Lars Bak said in a blog post today that the "class-based optionally typed programming language for building web applications" was made to feel "familiar and natural to programmers and thus easy to learn."

Bak said that Google wanted the code to offer high performance across browsers and environments and to support projects of all sizes.

"We believe Dart will be great for writing large web applications," he said.

The language preview and tools are available as open source, Bak said.