How Google is Making Chrome Faster and Smoother

Google this week announced changes to Chrome that will help the browser run faster and smoother. This is thanks to a change to the way Chrome compiles JavaScript.

Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine compiles JavaScript in the main thread, which could in turn affect the performance of the JavaScript app, slowing things down or causing stuttering. The latest Chrome Beta hopes to eliminate that by offloading the JavaScript compilation to a background thread.

V8 defers compilation of JavaScript functions until right before they’re executed for the first time. It’s a fast process, but it doesn’t place any focus on optimizing the code. If a piece of code is executed often will get compiled a second time by an optimizing compiler. This compiler employs advanced optimization techniques, which takes more time than the first compilation, but delivers faster code.

Up until now, V8 alternated between compiling optimized JavaScrip code and executing it. This new version of Chrome Beta introduces concurrent compilation, which means compilation and execution happen at the same time, with V8 optimizing large pieces of code in a background thread.  

Concurrent compilation is, right now, only available with Chrome Beta but should hopefully trickle down to the full version of Chrome in the not too distant future and will ultimately contribute towards reducing latency in Chrome.

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  • Grandmastersexsay
    Be a good citezen and install Chrome. Make it as easy as possible for the NSA to ensure you are not a threat to our national security.
    Reply
  • blppt
    This is actually a huge bonus for me---before, Chrome would get slightly annoying with the (brief) spinning wheel for certain JS and flash-heavy website loading, but with the latest beta, its completely gone. Well done, Google.
    Reply
  • burkhartmj
    12685371 said:
    Be a good citezen and install Chrome. Make it as easy as possible for the NSA to ensure you are not a threat to our national security.

    Stop being a fear-mongering troll.
    Reply
  • irish_adam
    Be a good citezen and install Chrome. Make it as easy as possible for the NSA to ensure you are not a threat to our national security.
    The ignorance is strong in this one. Google complies with the same rules as every other browser and search company operating in the US. You think you are safer on firefox or IE? if you do then you are a fool
    Reply
  • x310gtsx
    They've done a pretty terrible job of this in the past few months...
    Reply
  • thechief73
    I use chrome due to it best meeting design and features I want, but I am far from happy with it. It has been terrible at loading certain big name sites for many months. From margin errors to just completely falling on its face needing several refreshes to get pages to load. The development team must be blind, def, and dumb. They consistently remove good useful features, add pointless things and force you to use them, and completely ignore users suggestions for YEARS! How about custom install directory, or option for new tab page address, or turn off the newly designed tab page, allow to customize and/or lock most visited sites like we could back in v.18 and previous, make the search bar work in the page instead of snapping to the browser bar, or bring back recently closed tabs in some form or another. List goes on and on. Get it together Chrome, makes me wonder what you guys are thinking every "update" and I'm not even close to a software developer, just know how to use common sense.
    Reply
  • lockhrt999
    Current version of chrome stutters when opened very heavy websites. Older versions didn't have this problem. On the other hand FF doesn't have any problem with heavy websites.
    Reply
  • JD88
    It's also funny considering Google has been leading the charge when it comes to pushing for changes in the way the government is able to collect data. The best web browser just keeps getting better.
    Reply
  • zanny
    Be a good citezen and install Chrome. Make it as easy as possible for the NSA to ensure you are not a threat to our national security.
    The ignorance is strong in this one. Google complies with the same rules as every other browser and search company operating in the US. You think you are safer on firefox or IE? if you do then you are a fool
    Chromium and FF are foss, feel free to audit their code for any exploit vectors the NSA can use, and if you don't trust whoever is compiling the binaries you download, compile it yourself.You can also be sure that if anyone tried to add backdoors for a single nations government agencies to two massive international collaborative projects, someone would call foul on that.Chrome does have Google additions, so maybe they are adding backdoors. IE is a complete black box.
    Reply
  • nikolayivanov321
    Be a good citezen and install Chrome. Make it as easy as possible for the NSA to ensure you are not a threat to our national security.
    Because the other browsers are totally safe and nobody will ever spy on you through them, right?
    Reply