> just interested in command line apps and their speed as compared to, say, TypeScript There are no fast languages, only fast language implementations. NodeJS

> just interested in command line apps and their speed as compared to, say, TypeScript There are no fast languages, only fast language implementations. NodeJS/V8 is pretty fast (even faster than you probably think)—particularly if you're already doing things like making the sort of compromises where you limit yourself to writing only programs that can be expressed under the TypeScript regime. It's usually the case that it's not the NodeJS runtime that is the problem but rather the NodeJS programming style that is the source of the discomfort with "speed" that you will have experienced.