Mozilla has released an add-on for Firefox 4 that enables the integration of the Narcissus JavaScript engine that can be run in addition to Mozilla’s latest JaegerMonkey JavaScript engine. It is not quite as fast, but it is an alternative that enables developers and especially enterprises to run custom JavaScript applications in Firefox 4.

The add-on, called Zaphod 1.0, connects Firefox 4 with Narcissus, which is a JavaScript engine that was developed by Mozilla’s Brendan Eich, the developer of the first JavaScript Engine (SpiderMonkey).What makes Narcissus special is the fact that it is written entirely in JavaScript using a range of proprietary SpiderMonkey extensions, which enables developers to modify the JavaScript engine right within the browser.

While Mozilla says that Narcissus is executed by JaegerMonkey, which decreases the overall JavaScript performance, developers can now experiment with the JavaScript feature set and add or remove certain features. The result should be a much more flexible and customizable browser. According to the developer, Tom Austin, a graduate student and UC Santa Cruz, a web page can be customized so only specific content is processed by Narcissus. Austin has posted a few examples what can be done with Narcissus (you will need Firefox 4 and the Zaphod 1.0 add-on to run the code.)

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