When I started my PhD, back in 2009, I told my advisor I wanted to work on optimizing dynamic programming languages. A big part of my thesis was going to involve the implementation of a JIT compiler for some dynamic language, and so our discussion rapidly became focused on which language I should be working with. In the end, we ended up choosing JavaScript. It was a good compromise: a widely-used
![JavaScript is the C++ of the Web](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/2551b604adde0020f675e9cc5d5664f16406779e/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fpointersgonewild.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F08%2Fpieter_bruegel_the_elder_-_the_tower_of_babel_vienna_-_google_art_project_-_edited.jpg%3Fw%3D1200)