Where Is Browser Javascript Stored and Executed?

Question

Hi all,

When javascript is run in a browser

alert('Hello World');

What environment executes it and manages it in memory?

I know this is vaugue! But thats the best place to start!

Answer 1

This depends on the browser, The JavaScript engine, and what you mean by 'executes it'

There is not much of an answer to give.

Look at some JavaScript engine's architectures ...

http://www.mozilla.org/js/spidermonkey/

http://code.google.com/p/v8/

If you want to explore deeper, maybe read the first few chapters of the Dragon Book to learn a bit about how programs are interpreted and/or compiled to some intermediate or bytecode form.

Good Luck

Answer 2

The browser's javascript engine.

Here's a page that compares the performance of a bunch