How run a windows console for JavaScript

Question

I would like to have a console window (a command line) on Windows 7 which will allow me to play with JavaScript just like a python console.

Update: It's important to have a file access from within the console (or script run through it).

Answer 1

You can use Node.js's REPL. To do so follow this steps:

1. Download and Install Node.js.
2. Call Node.js from the Start Menu / Start Screen or directly node.exe installation path (e.g C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe).
3. Enjoy!

You may want to add the installation path to your PATH enviroment variable for ease of use.

Note: to leave node.js press Ctrl + C twice.

---

To access the local files, you will need the File System module. This is an example of usage:

var fs = require("fs");
fs.readFile(
    "C:\\test.txt",
    function(err, data)
    {
        if (!err)
        console.log(data.toString());
    }
);

This will output the contents of the file C:\test.txt to the console.

Note: An unhandled exception will cause node.js to "crash".