[dmoney]

Why do we need so many different VMs anyway? Is it it just history and politics? Are, e.g. Python and Ruby so different that, if implementing from scratch today it would make sense for each of them to have its own VM? What about the CLR vs the JVM: are their respective functions so different that it would make sense for both of them to exist if not for the need for Oracle and Microsoft to maintain mutual incompatibility?