[BringTheTanks]

> realistically a proprietary standard library – however huge – just can't compete with the open source ecosystems of Python and friends.

It's not competing with Python, it's language as a service. Instead of downloading dependencies, you just have them. They're hooked to live data sources, zero configuration.

This has a lot of potential, and it doesn't need to be its own language, but it doesn't hurt much.

[frik]

The Mathematica I know (v5, v6) were usable completely offline. Can one use the recent Mathematica version in an offline mode? How many parts are really part of the online service? I guess the WolframAlpha style data sources (country, city, etc. db sources).