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| <strong>Portable Native Client</strong>, and provides recommendations for when to use each.</p>
|
| <div class="contents local" id="contents" style="display: none">
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| <ul class="small-gap">
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| -<li><a class="reference internal" href="#native-client-nacl" id="id3">Native Client (NaCl)</a></li>
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| -<li><a class="reference internal" href="#portable-native-client-pnacl" id="id4">Portable Native Client (PNaCl)</a></li>
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| -<li><a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-pnacl" id="id5">When to use PNaCl</a></li>
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| -<li><a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-nacl" id="id6">When to use NaCl</a></li>
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| +<li><a class="reference internal" href="#native-client-nacl" id="id6">Native Client (NaCl)</a></li>
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| +<li><a class="reference internal" href="#portable-native-client-pnacl" id="id7">Portable Native Client (PNaCl)</a></li>
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| +<li><a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-pnacl" id="id8">When to use PNaCl</a></li>
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| +<li><a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-nacl" id="id9">When to use NaCl</a></li>
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| </ul>
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|
|
| -</div><h2 id="native-client-nacl">Native Client (NaCl)</h2>
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| +</div><h2 id="native-client-nacl"><span id="id2"></span>Native Client (NaCl)</h2>
|
| <p>Native Client enables the execution of native code securely inside web
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| applications through the use of advanced <a class="reference external" href="http://research.google.com/pubs/pub35649.html">Software Fault Isolation (SFI)
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| -techniques</a>. Since its launch in
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| -2011, Native Client has provided developers with the ability to harness a
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| -client machine’s computational power to a much fuller extent than traditional
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| -web technologies, by running compiled C and C++ code at near-native speeds and
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| -taking advantage of multiple cores with shared memory.</p>
|
| -<p>While Native Client provides operating system independence, it requires
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| -developers to generate architecture-specific executable
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| -(<strong>nexe</strong>) modules for each hardware platform. This is not only inconvenient
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| -for developers, but architecture-specific machine code is not portable and thus
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| -not well-suited for the open web. The traditional method of application
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| -distribution on the web is through a self-contained bundle of HTML, CSS,
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| -JavaScript, and other resources (images, etc.) that can be hosted on a server
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| -and run inside a web browser. With this type of distribution, a website
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| -created today should still work years later, on all platforms.
|
| -Architecture-specific executables are clearly not a good fit for distribution
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| -on the web. As a consequence, Native Client has been restricted to
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| -applications and browser extensions that are installed through the
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| +techniques</a>. Native Client
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| +allows you to harness a client machine’s computational power to a fuller extent
|
| +than traditional web technologies by running compiled C and C++ code at
|
| +near-native speeds and taking advantage of multiple cores with shared memory.</p>
|
| +<p>While Native Client provides operating system independence, it requires you to
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| +generate architecture-specific executables (<strong>nexe</strong>) for each hardware
|
| +platform. This is neither portable nor convenient, making it ill-suited for the
|
| +open web.</p>
|
| +<p>The traditional method of application distribution on the web is through self-
|
| +contained bundles of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other resources (images, etc.)
|
| +that can be hosted on a server and run inside a web browser. With this type of
|
| +distribution, a website created today should still work years later, on all
|
| +platforms. Architecture-specific executables are clearly not a good fit for
|
| +distribution on the web. Consequently, Native Client has been until recently
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| +restricted to applications and browser extensions that are installed through the
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| Chrome Web Store.</p>
|
| -<h2 id="portable-native-client-pnacl">Portable Native Client (PNaCl)</h2>
|
| +<h2 id="portable-native-client-pnacl"><span id="id3"></span>Portable Native Client (PNaCl)</h2>
|
| <p>PNaCl solves the portability problem by splitting the compilation process
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| into two parts:</p>
|
| <ol class="arabic simple">
|
| -<li>compiling the source code to a portable bitcode format, and</li>
|
| -<li>translating the bitcode to a host-specific executable just before execution.</li>
|
| +<li>compiling the source code to a bitcode executable (pexe), and</li>
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| +<li>translating the bitcode to a host-specific executable as soon as the module
|
| +loads in the browser but before any code execution.</li>
|
| </ol>
|
| -<p>PNaCl enables developers to distribute <strong>portable executables</strong> (<strong>pexe</strong>)
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| -modules that the hosting environment (in other words, the Chrome browser) can
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| -translate to native code before executing. This portability aligns Native Client
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| -with existing open web technologies such as JavaScript. A developer can
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| -distribute a <strong>pexe</strong> as part of an application (along with HTML, CSS, and
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| -JavaScript), and the user’s machine is simply able to run it.</p>
|
| -<p>With PNaCl, a developer generates a single <strong>pexe</strong> from source code,
|
| -rather than multiple platform-specific nexes. The <strong>pexe</strong> provides both
|
| -architecture- and OS-independence. Since the <strong>pexe</strong> uses an abstract,
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| -architecture-independent format, it does not suffer from the portability
|
| -problem described above. Future versions of hosting environments should
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| -have no problem executing the <strong>pexe</strong>, even on new architectures.
|
| -Moreover, if an existing architecture is subsequently enhanced, the
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| -<strong>pexe</strong> doesn’t even have to be recompiled. In some cases the
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| -client-side translation will automatically be able to take advantage of
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| -the new capabilities. A <strong>pexe</strong> module can be part of any web
|
| -application. It does not have to be distributed through the Chrome Web
|
| -Store. In short, PNaCl combines the portability of existing web technologies
|
| -with the performance and security benefits of Native Client.</p>
|
| +<p>This portability aligns Native Client with existing open web technologies such
|
| +as JavaScript. You can distribute a pexe as part of an application (along with
|
| +HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), and the user’s machine is simply able to run it.</p>
|
| +<p>With PNaCl, you’ll generate a single pexe, rather than multiple platform-
|
| +specific nexes. Since the pexe uses an abstract, architecture- and OS-
|
| +independent format, it does not suffer from the portability problem described
|
| +above. Although, PNaCl can be more efficient on some operating systems than on
|
| +others. PNaCl boasts the same level of security as NaCl. Future versions of
|
| +hosting environments should have no problem executing the pexe, even on new
|
| +architectures. Moreover, if an existing architecture is enhanced, the pexe
|
| +doesn’t need to be recompiled. In some cases the client-side translation will
|
| +automatically take advantage of new capabilities. A pexe can be part of any web
|
| +application. It does not have to be distributed through the Chrome Web Store. In
|
| +short, PNaCl combines the portability of existing web technologies with the
|
| +performance and security benefits of Native Client.</p>
|
| <p>PNaCl is a new technology, and as such it still has a few limitations
|
| as compared to NaCl. These limitations are described below.</p>
|
| -<h2 id="when-to-use-pnacl">When to use PNaCl</h2>
|
| +<h2 id="when-to-use-pnacl"><span id="id4"></span>When to use PNaCl</h2>
|
| <p>PNaCl is the preferred toolchain for Native Client, and the only way to deploy
|
| -Native Client modules on the open web. Unless your project is subject to one
|
| -of the narrow limitations described below
|
| -(see <a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-nacl"><em>When to use NaCl</em></a>), you should use PNaCl.</p>
|
| -<p>Beginning with version 31, the Chrome browser supports translation of
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| -<strong>pexe</strong> modules and their use in web applications, without requiring
|
| -any installation (either of a browser plugin or of the applications
|
| -themselves). Native Client and PNaCl are open-source technologies, and
|
| -our hope is that they will be added to other hosting platforms in the
|
| -future.</p>
|
| -<p>If controlled distribution through the Chrome Web Store is an important part
|
| -of your product plan, the benefits of PNaCl are less critical for you. But
|
| -you can still use the PNaCl toolchain and distribute your application
|
| -through the Chrome Web Store, and thereby take advantage of the
|
| -conveniences of PNaCl, such as not having to explicitly compile your application
|
| -for all supported architectures.</p>
|
| -<h2 id="when-to-use-nacl"><span id="id2"></span>When to use NaCl</h2>
|
| -<p>The limitations below apply to the current release of PNaCl. If any of
|
| -these limitations are critical for your application, you should use
|
| -non-portable NaCl:</p>
|
| +Native Client modules without the Google Web Store. Unless your project is
|
| +subject to one of the narrow limitations described under “<a class="reference internal" href="#when-to-use-nacl"><em>When to use
|
| +NaCl</em></a>”, you should use PNaCl.</p>
|
| +<p>Since version 31, Chrome supports translation of pexe
|
| +modules and their use in web applications without requiring installation either
|
| +of a browser plug-in or of the applications themselves. Native Client and PNaCl
|
| +are open-source technologies, and our hope is that they will be added to other
|
| +hosting platforms in the future.</p>
|
| +<p>If controlled distribution through the Chrome Web Store is an important part of
|
| +your product plan, the benefits of PNaCl are less critical for you. But you can
|
| +still use the PNaCl toolchain and distribute your application through the Chrome
|
| +Web Store, and thereby take advantage of the conveniences of PNaCl, such as not
|
| +having to explicitly compile your application for all supported architectures.</p>
|
| +<h2 id="when-to-use-nacl"><span id="id5"></span>When to use NaCl</h2>
|
| +<p>Use NaCl if any of the following apply to your application:</p>
|
| <ul class="small-gap">
|
| -<li>PNaCl does not support architecture-specific
|
| -instructions in an application (i.e., inline assembly), but tries to
|
| -offer high-performance portable equivalents. One such example is
|
| -PNaCl’s <a class="reference internal" href="/native-client/reference/pnacl-c-cpp-language-support.html#portable-simd-vectors"><em>Portable SIMD Vectors</em></a>.</li>
|
| -<li>PNaCl only supports static linking with the <code>newlib</code>
|
| -C standard library (the Native Client SDK provides a PNaCl port of
|
| -<code>newlib</code>). Dynamic linking and <code>glibc</code> are not yet supported.
|
| -Work is under way to enable dynamic linking in future versions of PNaCl.</li>
|
| -<li>PNaCl does not support some GNU extensions
|
| -like taking the address of a label for computed <code>goto</code>, or nested
|
| +<li>Your application requires architecture-specific instructions such as, for
|
| +example, inline assembly. PNaCl tries to offer high-performance portable
|
| +equivalents. One such example is PNaCl’s <a class="reference internal" href="/native-client/reference/pnacl-c-cpp-language-support.html#portable-simd-vectors"><em>Portable SIMD Vectors</em></a>.</li>
|
| +<li>Your application uses dynamic linking. PNaCl only supports static linking
|
| +with a PNaCl port of the <code>newlib</code> C standard library . Dynamic linking and
|
| +<code>glibc</code> are not yet supported in PNaCl. Work is under way to enable dynamic
|
| +linking in future versions of PNaCl.</li>
|
| +<li>Your application uses certain GNU extensions not supported by PNaCl’s LLVM
|
| +toolchain, like taking the address of a label for computed <code>goto</code>, or nested
|
| functions.</li>
|
| </ul>
|
| </section>
|
|
|