[Fasebook]

This shows us how useful JS really is.

[rubiquity]

More like: "This shows us how desirable it is to try and circumvent writing JavaScript, despite how important the Web is."

I'm not saying JavaScript is good or bad. Just saying that there is certainly a strong desire to not write it, as evidenced by this long list of transpile languages.

[Touche]

That's the glass-half-empty look at it. I look at it the opposite: it's rather easy to write a web application in any language you want. Unlike the native platforms (especially on mobile). In fact, the web community puts a lot of effort into making it easy for you to use an altjs language.

[soganess]

Or, more simply, a good indirect indicator of how desirable a common vm for the web really is.

[rubiquity]

That would be a dream come true.

[lostcolony]

Provided it ran the same across browsers.

My main gripe isn't Javascript (though I agree, argh), it's the DOM. So yeah, I could choose to write X instead of Javascript, but I still have the most painful of the pain points to deal with.

[acjohnson55]

What's wrong with the DOM? I feel like jQuery abstracts away most of the pain. Do you mean the API itself, or in the abstract sense of laying out web apps like documents?

[buckbova]

It goes the other way too, see rhino:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Rhino/Overview

[_random_]

Dirt is useful for growing plants, but you don't want to touch it ;)