Raiser
A typed virtual machine that beats V8 cold starts by 10x. No JIT warmup, no compilation wait.
What is Raiser?
Raiser is a bytecode VM that runs your MetaScript code instantly. Types known at compile time means no runtime type checking - every operation is as fast as it can be.
Benchmarks
* Measured on M4 MacBook Pro, 10 iterations averaged
Why Raiser is Fast
Tiny VM (~15KB) fits in L1 cache. V8 is ~MB.
The Secret: Types Eliminate Runtime Checks
V8 and JavaScriptCore spend most of their time figuring out types at runtime:
V8 does 6 operations. Raiser does 4. Every single opcode.
Use Cases
Instant Feedback Loop
No compile wait. No bundle step. No restart. Change your code and see results in milliseconds. Raiser reloads running code while preserving application state - perfect for rapid iteration during development.
Game Scripting
Tweak game logic while the game runs. Test balance changes without restarting levels.
Plugin Systems
Users extend your app without recompiling. Full type safety for plugin APIs. Reload plugins on-the-fly.
Configuration as Code
Config files that can compute values, not just declare them. MetaScript's build.ms is executable code with full type safety - loop over environments, compose settings programmatically, share logic across configs. Update and reload without redeploying.
When to Use Raiser
| Scenario | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Production deployment | C backend |
| Game scripting | Raiser |
| Plugin systems | Raiser |
| Development iteration | Raiser |
| Browser apps | JS backend |
| Distributed systems | Erlang backend |