JavaScript Worker Threads

The powerful HTML 5 may not be fully implemented today but it is slowly gaining acceptance in various browsers. Leading the way is Firefox which is slowly pushing for more HTML 5 functionalities in their browser. Although it is still trying to adapt to current demands, HTML 5 has already shown promising results that could improve user interface and interaction.

The improvement of HTML 5 is good news for JavaScript. As HTML 5 increases the client side functionality, JavaScript could be greatly complemented to provide powerful interface that’s not enjoyed today.

For now, the power of HTML 5 is usually focused on how to deal with data manipulation with the help of JavaScript. One of those functions is the worker thread. In gist, a worker thread could implement data changes and updates without the changing affecting the browser. This function is found in JavaScript but worker threads goes further by fully interacting with DOM and XHR along with its corresponding functions.

The latter function of HTML 5 is very impressive since it can help JavaScript push for more functionality. Instead of JavaScript dealing with XHR and DOM, it can be focused on data manipulation on the client side. Let HTML 5 do those tasks so that the browser will have ease dealing with DOM and XHR.

Harnessing PUSH for JavaScript

The efficiency of worker threads is in its ability to harness the “push” in Ajax. The communication between the web server and client side is very simple but it might be deemed “too simple” for HTML 5. Instead of regular event driven communication from the web server to the client side, HTML 5 will create more functions by implementing sub workers, intervals and timers. These functions could fully integrate with XHR and DOM. This means the event driven use of JavaScript and Ajax in streaming data to the client side could branch out with additional functions of HTML 5.

The beauty of HTML 5 with regards to worker threads in JavaScript is its ability to terminate its functions. Developers could set intervals on when will worker threads execute their functions and even terminate the function if the HTML 5 has done its job. This function is very impressive since it can provide more customization for the developers. They can use HTML 5 to load the data users need while JavaScript works on the client side.

Browser Challenges

HTML 5 still needs a few more years before it could reach the majority of browsers. Today, only Firefox (version 3 and older) have the ability to deal with the HTML 5. Safari is slowly catching up but they are only implementing HTML 5 in beta.

But given the response as well as the innovations provided by HTML 5 in JavaScript, attention and support for further adoption is increasing. The best thing about it is that Firefox has already started the efforts so developers would be able to have a glimpse on how efficient the application would be if JavaScript is integrated with HTML 5.