>This is what I'm replying to from OP: >>"Hey, did anyone notice that we finally have a universal runtime (Javascript) on server+desktop+browser+mobile?!? Let'

>This is what I'm replying to from OP: >>"Hey, did anyone notice that we finally have a universal runtime (Javascript) on server+desktop+browser+mobile?!? Let's make _it_ fast by creating an IL runtime!!!" Ok, I see the misunderstanding. The "_it_" I'm referring to is the "desire to run serious apps in that runtime". I wasn't claiming that WASM makes Javascript syntax faster. jchw intepreted my meaning as I intended: From my PoV, they designed an IL runtime based on how some people were using JavaScript, aka inspired by Asm.js, not an IL runtime for or based on JavaScript. My point is that history has now shown us that it's easier for Google to extend V8 engine to also run WASM, and for Mozilla to extend SpiderMonkey to also run WASM... rather than for Sun JVM applets to spread into all browsers as a universal runtime -- or for a JVM-bytecode-compatible engine to be embedded inside Chrome/Firefox. Even though Javascript itself was not purposefully designed to be a universal compilation target for C/C++, it nevertheless opened a door to a universal bytecode runtime that the JVM/CLR did not.