[jenscow]

I once thought having to "compile" into Javascript was a small price to pay for the great benefits that Dart provides.

I now believe compiling to JS is actually a feature: You're only targeting a single "VM" implementation. All the hard work is done for us, and I'm able to use every feature of the language without worrying if a particular browser supports it. Also, you have an optimising compiler and tree-shaking thrown in for free.