Sigma0

This is an interesting article with regards to helping the V8 compiler optimise JavaScript code. Often, if C like speed is required, it would be easier to just write C rather than try emulate it through esoteric language features, but I wonder if these kind of compiler optimisations could be included via a language that compiles to JavaScript, such as CoffeeScript, at the expense of readability.

Despite the deliberately provocative title, there is no suggestion that web apps are superior to native apps. Instead, it gives an example of just-in-time device interaction which can't easily be served by the native app model. Such a gap could incidentally be served by a web app, where the one-time usage costs are much lower.

Think about waiting at a bus stop in a city you're visiting for the weekend. You probably won't care enough to download a bus timetable app, but it would still be nice to know if it was easy enough to find out, such as via an NFC tag pointing to an HTTP URL.