"Narwhal is a cross-platform, multi-interpreter, general purpose JavaScript platform. It aims to provide a solid foundation for building JavaScript applications, primarily outside the web browser. Narwhal includes a package manager, module system, and standard library for multiple JavaScript interpreters. Currently Narwhal’s Rhino support is the most complete, but other platforms are available too."
I'm confused as to why someone would use this over, say, the xulrunner platform. Perhaps this is somehow different that I don't currently understand? I mean, xulrunner provides this exact functionality (see things like Songbird, an outside the browser music player). I guess having competing platforms is good for all but they have a lot of years of catch-up.
xulrunner is more than just javascript, it is also XUL and XPCOM, and is meant for apps with a GUI. This appears to let you run just JavaScript as if it were in a "virtual machine"-ish environment.
Has anyone tried this out?