simplest way to write programs in javascript on desktop?

I’m looking for way to write Javascript programs / scripts on desktop, not inside browser. I want it to run like Python – from the command line, to be able to read files, write files etc. All solutions I find mentioned (Rhino, spidermonkey, V8) are for embedding. Has anyone done simple implementation for just writing standalone programs with full capabilities of OS access etc.?

For windows preferably, or maybe Linux

Answer

There is Node.js that allows you to write server side JavaScript. Node.js works on Linux, Mac and Windows.It also has a really good REPL so you can start it up on from your terminal to write JavaScript and see how it works.