dart2java: Running Dart in Java-based Environments

Abstract

We present the design and implementation of dart2java, an experimental Dart to Java compiler. It is implemented in Dart and currently supports many but not all Dart language constructs. dart2java is a playground to evaluate performance implications of running Dart code on the JVM and to investigate if it is possible to write Dart code in a largely Java-dominated environment. This paper describes the architecture of dart2java, performance optimizations such as non-nullability of primitive types and generic specialization (and their implications), as well as ideas for language interoperability, i.e., calling Java code from Dart and vice versa.