> Jython already compiles to bytecode. I've been working on JRuby's
> compiler, and it's going very well. There's not really anything about
> the JVM that would prevent these languages from getting compiled to
> bytecode, and there are plans to expand/improve the JVM to make it
> easier to do so.

Well, I vaguely remember some papers explaining why the CLR is better
suited than the JVM as a generic VM and why some tricks are simply
impossible (or unlikely) with the JVM. But please don't ask me about
details, and you will probably know papers coming to exactly the
opposite conclusion. Anyway, my personal impression was that most
jsomething compilers/interpreters often were frustratingly slow and
IMHO never quite kept up with their creator's promises. But I have to
admit that this information is not, well, up to date and I'm very glad
to hear that it maybe isn't true (any longer?) and will improve. Thanks
for the info.