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Did you have tons of C/C++ libraries thrown at you in 100 level courses? Probably not, I'm guessing.

JavaScript is great because it runs in a browser, provides immediate feedback without having to compile/recompile and allows for all the simple flow control concepts mentioned by other posters.

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Well, I assume OS X is quite popular among students. I'd say opening terminal and typing "python" or "irb" beats the hell out of "running in browser".

I don't see running in the browser as a benefit. It means that a required step for a neophyte in producing meaningful output is getting a handle on the utterly brain-dead DOM API.

There's 'console.log' which outputs to the debuggers output screen.

But then the mere fact that a computer comes with a browser already installed is not a notable advantage. I can get a Python REPL running on a computer with an amount of effort and know-how comparable to that necessary to install Chrome.

Its a programming language for the web. Not only is running in browser a benefit, its a necessity.

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