Neko has a compiler and a virtual machine (VM) with garbage collection.

Since Neko is dynamically typed with no fixed classes, a developer only needs to find the proper runtime mapping (in contrast to data type mapping) so that code executes correctly.

As the Neko FAQ puts it: "...it is easier to write a new or existing language on the NekoVM than it is for the CLR / JVM, since you don’t have to deal with a highlevel type system.

Also, this means that languages can interoperate more easily since they only need to share the same data structures and not always the same types.

"[1] Neko requires compiling before executing, like other scripting languages such as Apache Groovy.