CheerpJ 2.1 adds more features for bringing Java bytecode to the web
CheerpJ 2.1 has arrived with several updates on board for bringing Java to the web. CheerpJ is a tool that comes with a full Java 8 SE runtime environment. It is designed to compile Java bytecode into JavaScript and, since version 2.0, which was released two months ago, also to WebAssembly. Let’s take a look at the latest maintenance release.
The company Leaning Technologies has released CheerpJ 2.1, as announced in a Medium blog post.
CheerpJ is designed to convert legacy Java applications into JavaScript and WebAssembly, thus bringing Java to the web. For this, it has an AOT compiler, a Java runtime in WebAssembly and JS, and an interoperability API on board.
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Let’s dive right in and see what’s new in CheerpJ 2.1.
Features in v2.1
CheerpJ 2.1 is a maintenance release which adds bug fixes and updates several features.
For example, v2.1 includes an updated Java exception handling: Java exceptions should now be compiled to more efficient JavaScript code. The handling of native Java reflection calls has been updated as well, and the build size of CheerpJ’s ahead-of-time JavaScript output has been reduced.
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CheerpJ can now also create stub JavaScript files for native methods, allowing for custom browser-based implementations of native methods in JavaScript and WebAssembly.
Other updates introduced in v2.1 are designed to improve the robustness of the AOT compiler and JavaScript interoperability.
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CheerpJ can be used on Windows, macOS or Linux and is available as Community, Essential or Enterprise edition. As the website states, “CheerpJ is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as well as for technical evaluation. Any other use will require a license.”
The CheerpJ GitHub repository can help you get started.
See more in the blog post.
