So if you’re developing Javascript for the web, the answer is “no.” If you want to deliver cross-browser binaries, you’ll need to look into WebAssembly, which is usually written in C/C++, Rust, or another language.īut Javascript is compiled. So Javascript is delivered as text, which is then interpreted and compiled by the browser. Like HTML and CSS, most front-end Javascript developers are developing for the web – which means having to target multiple browsers and multiple operating systems. The title of this article is “Creating Javascript Binaries For Electron” – so… can we create Javascript binaries? Yes and no. Generally speaking, binary code is hidden and protected. It is impossible for another developer to open the binary and recreate the source which created it. The source code is not distributed with the application.

This is how applications created with most “professional” programming languages are distributed. But if we want to create a software product, Javascript is at a disadvantage because we cannot hide our code.īy contrast, compiled code is converted to binary – the language that the computer processor speaks. This is fine for a website where their product is their content. One of the first steps along the path for most web developers is to “view source” on a website and start digging around in the code. However, as a non-compiled language, most Javascript code ends up “out there” for the world to see. Yet, over time, Javascript has become a full-fledged application programming language, used first in server environments (usually in the form of Node.js) and now more and more for creating desktop apps (often using the Electron framework) and mobile apps as well (using a variety of frameworks). It was designed to be portable and simple, interpreted and compiled by the browser at run-time – sometimes referred to as just-in-time (JIT) compilation.

Electron node js version