[External] : Re: CFV: New Project: Detroit

[Volker Simonis]

Very interesting, if only to have something to compare GraalJS and GraalPy
against it :)

Do you still plan to import the V8/CPython sources and build them as part
of the JDK (like in the initial prototype) or will the new implementation
(also) work with existing V8/CPython implementations (like e.g. JDKs zlib)?

Vote: yes


On Wed, Feb 25, 2026 at 1:35 PM Sundararajan Athijegannathan <
sundararajan.athijegannathan at oracle.com> wrote:

> I hereby propose the (re)creation of the Detroit Project, with myself as
> the Lead and the Compiler Group as the sponsoring Group.
>
> The Detroit Project was originally created in February 2018 [1], with
> the intent to develop an implementation of the JCP-standard javax.script
> API [2][3] based on the V8 JavaScript engine [4].  This would enable
> JavaScript to be used as an extension language for Java applications,
> and likewise Java libraries to be accessed from JavaScript applications.
> The Project never got off the ground, however, so it was dissolved in
> September 2024 [5].
>
> Here in February 2026, there is still interest in using Java and
> JavaScript together.  With the rise of AI, moreover, there is also
> interest in accessing AI functionality written in Python from Java
> applications.
>
> Some colleagues and I have therefore revived the original prototype
> JavaScript script engine based on V8, and have also prototyped a Python
> script engine based on CPython [6].  Using widely-adopted JavaScript
> and Python implementations, rather than re-implementing JavaScript and
> Python from scratch, ensures both low long-term maintenance costs and
> compatibility for existing JavaScript and Python code.
>
> We would like to move these prototypes into a proper OpenJDK Project
> in order to accelerate development.  We expect to leverage and push
> the boundaries of the FFM API [7], so this work will likely influence
> Project Panama.  Over time, the Project may consider implementing
> script engines for additional languages.
>
> The initial Committers will be:
>
>   Jim Laskey
>   Sundararajan Athijegannathan
>   Jorn Vernee
>   Mikael Vidstedt
>   Henry Jen
>   Maurizio Cimadamore
>   Alan Bateman
>   Hannes Wallnöfer
>   Jan Lahoda
>   Jaikiran Pai
>
> Votes are due by midnight UTC on Wednesday, 11 March.
>
> Only current OpenJDK Members [8] are eligible to vote on this motion.
> Votes must be cast in the open on the discuss list.  Replying to this
> message is sufficient if your mail program honors the Reply-To header.
>
> For Lazy Consensus voting instructions, see [9].
>
> Sundar
>
>
> [1] https://mail.openjdk.org/pipermail/announce/2018-February/000244.html
> [2]
> https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/25/docs/api/java.scripting/javax/script/package-summary.html
> [3] https://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=223
> [4] https://v8.dev
> [5]
> https://mail.openjdk.org/pipermail/compiler-dev/2024-September/027645.html
> [6] https://github.com/python/cpython
> [7] https://openjdk.org/jeps/454
> [8] http://openjdk.java.net/census#members
> [9] http://openjdk.java.net/projects/#new-project-vote
>
>
>
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