Web 2.0 applications will be twice as fast on Firefox 3.1

The next version of Firefox will handle web 2.0 programming applications using JavaScript, such as Gmail, which is twice as fast as it is today.

JavaScript is a widely used programming language for designing Web 2.0 applications. However, because the Java Script-based application runs much slower on a web browser than regular software, developers often turn to third-party companies, such as Adobe's Flash and Flex. Mozilla said it would solve the problem thoroughly with a new technology called TraceMonkey.

TraceMonkey is expected to double the JavaScript processing speed in Firefox 3.1 (FF 3.1) compared to FF3.0. Not only does it speed up basic tasks, this technology also helps applications to adjust images and 3D tasks of web browsers much faster. TraceMonkey's main image editing test shows a 7-fold increase in speed.

TraceMonkey is a hybrid technology between SpiderMonkey - Mozilla's current JavaScript translation technology - with the new "tracking" technology developed by the University of California.

Software installed on a computer is usually recompiled from pre-programmed code into a binary code. But JavaScript runs on the browser, due to its specificity online, often translated in lines of code much slower. TraceMonkey will translate and convert into binary code as soon as the programming code from the server is sent to the browser, primarily prioritizing tasks that the software performs repeatedly.

Thanks to the above priorities, TraceMonkey consumes very little memory, suitable for both PC and mobile devices.

TraceMonkey will soon appear in the first test version of FF3.1. The official version will be available later this year. This technology will be the new "trump card" of Firefox 3 in the race against rivals Internet Explorer 8, Safari, Opera next time.

In addition, FF 3.1 will also have many other impressive improvements. First of all, it supports multi-threaded computing for JavaScript software, helping them work "underground" more effectively. Next is the ability to play music and watch movies right on the browser with Ogg open source format.

Mozilla also said it will boost incentives for users to switch to FF3. Currently, FF2 users are only automatically prompted to update the new patch, rather than requiring a direct upgrade to FF3.