JavaScript is the most interesting language, but at the same time, it’s a very strange language. I have read a book called “JavaScript: Good Parts”, but it’s still hard to learn. You mention that ActionScript and Java are relatives of JavaScript. I feel so if I look at the Wikipedia entry for JavaScript. In the real world, I don’t think “learning cost” of learning JavaScript is small for ActionScript coders and Java coders. But I understand learning server-side JavaScript might be easy because we don’t have to think about browsers at all.

A question: where do other scripting languages like Ruby and Python go in your model? Maybe we can still write in Ruby and convert the code into JavaScript with “JavaScript Virtual Machine” or something?

Also in order for JavaScript to thrive, more efforts on tools are necessary. I know there is JSLint and also several testing frameworks. And documentation, screencasts, books and so on. Do you have any resources that you think “must-read” or “must-check”?