Raiser

Goal: 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.

# Run with Raiser VM
msc run --target=raiser src/game.ms

Why Raiser is Fast

Tiny hand-written Assembly 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's ADD opcode:
  1. Load operand A
  2. Check type of A (number? string? object?)
  3. Load operand B
  4. Check type of B
  5. Dispatch to correct operation
  6. Store result

Raiser's ADD opcode:
  1. Load operand A (known i32)
  2. Load operand B (known i32)
  3. Add
  4. Store result

V8 does 6 operations. Raiser does 4. Every single opcode.

Use Cases

# Start watch mode - instant hot reload
msc run --watch --target=raiser src/app.ms

# Edit code → Save → See changes instantly
# No rebuild. No restart. State preserved.

@derive(Script)
class PlayerController {
  speed: f32 = 5.0
  health: i32 = 100

  @update
  tick(dt: f32): void {
    const input = Input.getAxis("horizontal")
    this.transform.x += input * this.speed * dt
  }

  @on("damage")
  takeDamage(amount: i32): void {
    this.health -= amount
    if (this.health <= 0) {
      this.die()
    }
  }
}

When to Use Raiser