Actually, I do know that JavaScript was originally meant to run in a browser. I also know it can be run "server side," or even just used as a general programming language. My mentioning of the web server was similar to my mentioning of Ubuntu, to try to ensure that the reader knows I'm not a complete computing dweeb.

I also know that one can just embed code between <script> tags, and I know that one can reference code in files elsewhere. But that's inefficient for actual learning. I was asking for a more effective setup without having to download, compile and install huge numbers of extras.