Later Binding: Just-in-Time Compilation of a Younger Dynamic Programming Language

We examine LuaJIT, an implementation of the dynamic programming language Lua. By using a technique known as tracing just-in-time compilation LuaJIT is able to evaluate high-level language features with great efficiency. It does this by using only a conservative set of optimization passes, and without resorting to explicit type declarations, or abandoning type safety. In presenting the implementation’s design we consider its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we propose future directions for dynamic language implementations that wish to leverage this technique