Gotcha. On a technical level, I would also have preferred something like a "bytecode" type VM. However, I believe that would have severely hindered the uptake

Gotcha. On a technical level, I would also have preferred something like a "bytecode" type VM. However, I believe that would have severely hindered the uptake since all browsers would have to support it before I'd even think about using it. Dart's "VM" is already supported on all modern browsers. edit: This was already tried with Java Applets, however I guess Microsoft's implementation had put people off it. Plus it was before it's time, IMO.