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JavaScript: can be run anywhere that has a (full-featured) browser without having to install anything. Can load code from the net automatically, again, without having to go through any manual installation process. Has most features found in modern programming languages. Performance is Good Enough for many tasks. Reasonably good as a compilation target for other languages.

Of course, it's also got plenty of drawbacks, but you didn't ask about those. :-)

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JavaScript is interesting because the language itself may not have a Unique Selling Point. Its most important feature is its ubiquity, a property of its ecosystem.

It's basically (pardon the pun) the BASIC of today. The early microcomputers almost all came with a free BASIC interpreter, and a lot of programmers got their start that way. Nowadays many people get their start with a simple text editor and a JS interpreter running in a web browser.

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