| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2009; 16 years ago (2009) |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Type | JScript engine |
| License | Proprietary |
Chakra is aproprietaryJScript engine developed byMicrosoft. It is used in theInternet Explorerweb browser.
Microsoft later developed a newJavaScript engine for itsMicrosoft Edge [Legacy] browser, which is confusingly also calledChakra.Microsoft Edge switched to theV8 JavaScript engine in 2020.
A distinctive feature of the engine is that itJIT compiles scripts on a separateCPU core, parallel to the web browser.[1][2] Though Microsoft has in the past pointed out that other elements, such asrendering andmarshalling, are just as important for a browser's overall performance,[3] their improvements to the engine were in response to evolving competing browsers, compared to which IE8 was lagging behind in terms of client-side script processing speed.[4]
SunSpider tests performed on November 18, 2009 showed thePDC version of IE9 executing scripts much faster than IE8, but slower thanFirefox 3.6,Chrome 4, andWebKit Nightly.[3] The same test performed on March 15, 2010 showed the first IE9 Platform Preview (using the then-current version of Chakra) to be faster than Firefox (withSpiderMonkey), but slower thanSafari (withSquirrelFish Extreme), Chrome (withV8), andOpera (withCarakan).
On March 8, 2011, Microsoft published results showing the 32-bit Internet Explorer 9 to be faster than Safari, Firefox (withTraceMonkey), Chrome, and Opera.[5]
March 2011 performance tests forZDNET concluded that Internet Explorer 9 (32-bit),Chrome 10, andFirefox 4release candidate were "pretty evenly matched."[6]
In 2012, subsequent versions of Chakra, such as the version included inInternet Explorer 10, introduced additional performance changes, including JIT compilation onx64 andARM architectures, and optimizations related tofloating point math andgarbage collection.[7]
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