JavaScript: Linux in a browser!

Developer Fabrice Bellard decided to develop a Linux emulation system in JavaScript, just for fun. You can test your command line skills directly in Firefox 4 and Google Chrome 11.

This demonstrates the progress being made by JavaScript with it now being possible to run a Linux operating system in a web browser. Thanks to this emulator developed by Frenchman Fabrice Bellard, it is now possible to use Linux commands (pwd, ls, cd, whoami, ps...) from within Firefox 4 and Google Chrome 11.

With the other browsers, this will likely not work though. Fabrice Bellard states that he was interested in the implementation of JavaScript engines and wanted to learn more about designing specially optimised code for these, in particular for JaegerMonkey and V8 - Firefox 4 and Google Chrome’s respective engines.

JavaScript PC Emulator emulates a PC equipped with an Intel 486 processor from the 1990’s. The Linux system uses the 2.6.20 core. All of this was done as some fun: "I did it for some entertainment, as the new JavaScript engines are fast enough to make things complicated if you wish".

Fabrice Bellard nevertheless sees other possible applications like benchmarks and old DOS games which could be run. He is not unknown within the programming community, well known for his work on QEMU, a free program which allows you emulate numerous hardware configurations and the FFmeg free software libraries which allow you to manipulate audio and video. His achievements make quite an impressive list.

With JavaScript PC Emulator, it is mostly a demonstration of the JavaScript that is being done. The test is rather impressive, and can be viewed here, while Firefox 4 and Google Chrome 11 users can test it if they wish.