Emscripten vs Hermes

Overview

Emscripten

Stacks20

Followers20

Votes0

GitHub Stars26.9K

Forks3.5K

Hermes

Stacks24

Followers35

Votes0

GitHub Stars10.6K

Forks717

Emscripten vs Hermes: What are the differences?

Introduction

Emscripten and Hermes are both tools used in the world of web development, specifically for optimizing and improving the performance of JavaScript applications. However, there are several key differences between the two that set them apart in terms of functionality and use. In this article, we will explore these differences in detail.

Compilation Process: One of the major differences between Emscripten and Hermes lies in their compilation process. Emscripten utilizes LLVM (Low-Level Virtual Machine) to compile C and C++ code into JavaScript, allowing developers to run their native code directly in the browser. On the other hand, Hermes is a JavaScript engine designed specifically for mobile devices, focusing on improving runtime performance by utilizing ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation techniques. This means that Hermes compiles JavaScript code into highly optimized native code, resulting in faster execution on mobile platforms.
Compatibility: While Emscripten is compatible with a wide range of platforms, including browsers, Node.js, and even gaming consoles, Hermes is primarily designed for mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. Emscripten's ability to generate JavaScript code allows it to work in various environments, making it a versatile tool for web developers. However, Hermes' specialization in mobile platforms makes it a more efficient option for optimizing JavaScript performance specifically for mobile applications.
Execution Environment: Another significant difference between Emscripten and Hermes lies in their execution environments. Emscripten runs within the JavaScript runtime of a web browser or Node.js, and therefore relies on the underlying JavaScript engine to interpret and execute the generated code. In contrast, Hermes replaces the default JavaScript engine in mobile platforms, effectively becoming the runtime environment itself. This allows Hermes to have more control and optimization potential over the execution of JavaScript code, resulting in improved performance compared to a generic JavaScript engine.
Optimization Focus: While both Emscripten and Hermes aim to improve JavaScript performance, they prioritize different aspects of optimization. Emscripten primarily focuses on translating native code into portable and efficient JavaScript, allowing developers to run high-performance applications in the browser. In contrast, Hermes focuses on reducing memory usage and startup times for mobile applications, specifically targeting the limitations of mobile devices. This means that Hermes is optimized to provide a smooth and responsive user experience on resource-constrained mobile platforms.
Community and Support: Emscripten and Hermes have different levels of community and support. Emscripten has been around for a longer time and has a larger user base, resulting in a more active and vibrant community. This means that developers using Emscripten can benefit from a wealth of resources, documentation, and community-driven solutions. On the other hand, Hermes, being a relatively new tool, has a smaller community and may not have the same level of community support as Emscripten. However, being backed by Facebook, Hermes has the advantage of being developed and maintained by a renowned tech company, ensuring ongoing updates and improvements.

In Summary, Emscripten and Hermes differ in their compilation process, compatibility, execution environment, optimization focus, and community support. Emscripten utilizes LLVM for compiling native code into JavaScript, and it works across various platforms, while Hermes specializes in mobile platforms and focuses on improving runtime performance. Emscripten runs within existing JavaScript runtimes, while Hermes replaces the default JavaScript engine. Emscripten prioritizes portability and high-performance applications, while Hermes emphasizes memory usage and startup times. Emscripten has a larger community and more resources, whereas Hermes is backed by Facebook but has a smaller community.

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CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Detailed Comparison

Emscripten	Hermes
This allows applications and libraries originally designed to run as standard executables to be integrated into client side web applications.	It is a JavaScript engine optimized for fast start up of React Native apps on Android. It features ahead-of-time static optimization and compact bytecode.
Compile C and C++ code into JavaScript; Compile any other code that can be translated into LLVM bitcode into JavaScript; Compile the C/C++ runtimes of other languages into JavaScript	ahead-of-time static optimization; Faster App Launch
Statistics
GitHub Stars 26.9K	GitHub Stars 10.6K
GitHub Forks 3.5K	GitHub Forks 717
Stacks 20	Stacks 24
Followers 20	Followers 35
Votes 0	Votes 0
Integrations
Grunt gulp Gatsby Vue CLI	Linux React Native macOS

What are some alternatives to Emscripten, Hermes?

Babel

Babel will turn your ES6+ code into ES5 friendly code, so you can start using it right now without waiting for browser support.

Modernizr

It’s a collection of superfast tests or detects as we like to call them which run as your web page loads, then you can use the results to tailor the experience to the user. It tells you what HTML, CSS and JavaScript features the user’s browser has to offer.

Rome

It is a linter, compiler, bundler, and more for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, HTML, Markdown, and CSS. It is designed to replace Babel, ESLint, webpack, Prettier, Jest, and others. It unifies functionality that has previously been separate tools. Building upon a shared base allows us to provide a cohesive experience for processing code, displaying errors, parallelizing work, caching, and configuration.

Scala.js

It is a safer way to build robust front-end web applications. With it, typos and type-errors are immediately caught and shown to you in your editor, without even needing to compile your code. Refactor any field or method with ease, with the confidence that if you mess it up the editor will tell you immediately

Rome

It is an experimental JavaScript toolchain. It includes a compiler, linter, formatter, bundler, testing framework and more. It aims to be a comprehensive tool for anything related to the processing of JavaScript source code.

Sucrase

Sucrase is an alternative to Babel that allows super-fast development builds. Instead of compiling a large range of JS features down to ES5, Sucrase assumes that you're targeting a modern JS runtime (e.g. Node.js 8 or latest Chrome) and focuses on compiling non-standard language extensions: JSX, TypeScript, and Flow.

Fable.io

It is a compiler powered by Babel designed to make F# a first-class citizen of the JavaScript ecosystem.

QuickJS

It supports the ES2019 specification including modules, asynchronous generators and proxies. It optionally supports mathematical extensions such as big integers (BigInt), big floating point numbers (BigFloat) and operator overloading.

Related Comparisons

Emscripten vs Hermes: What are the differences?

Introduction

Compilation Process: One of the major differences between Emscripten and Hermes lies in their compilation process. Emscripten utilizes LLVM (Low-Level Virtual Machine) to compile C and C++ code into JavaScript, allowing developers to run their native code directly in the browser. On the other hand, Hermes is a JavaScript engine designed specifically for mobile devices, focusing on improving runtime performance by utilizing ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation techniques. This means that Hermes compiles JavaScript code into highly optimized native code, resulting in faster execution on mobile platforms.
Compatibility: While Emscripten is compatible with a wide range of platforms, including browsers, Node.js, and even gaming consoles, Hermes is primarily designed for mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. Emscripten's ability to generate JavaScript code allows it to work in various environments, making it a versatile tool for web developers. However, Hermes' specialization in mobile platforms makes it a more efficient option for optimizing JavaScript performance specifically for mobile applications.
Execution Environment: Another significant difference between Emscripten and Hermes lies in their execution environments. Emscripten runs within the JavaScript runtime of a web browser or Node.js, and therefore relies on the underlying JavaScript engine to interpret and execute the generated code. In contrast, Hermes replaces the default JavaScript engine in mobile platforms, effectively becoming the runtime environment itself. This allows Hermes to have more control and optimization potential over the execution of JavaScript code, resulting in improved performance compared to a generic JavaScript engine.
Optimization Focus: While both Emscripten and Hermes aim to improve JavaScript performance, they prioritize different aspects of optimization. Emscripten primarily focuses on translating native code into portable and efficient JavaScript, allowing developers to run high-performance applications in the browser. In contrast, Hermes focuses on reducing memory usage and startup times for mobile applications, specifically targeting the limitations of mobile devices. This means that Hermes is optimized to provide a smooth and responsive user experience on resource-constrained mobile platforms.
Community and Support: Emscripten and Hermes have different levels of community and support. Emscripten has been around for a longer time and has a larger user base, resulting in a more active and vibrant community. This means that developers using Emscripten can benefit from a wealth of resources, documentation, and community-driven solutions. On the other hand, Hermes, being a relatively new tool, has a smaller community and may not have the same level of community support as Emscripten. However, being backed by Facebook, Hermes has the advantage of being developed and maintained by a renowned tech company, ensuring ongoing updates and improvements.

Emscripten vs Hermes

Overview