Scripting languages

[Maximation]

Scripting languages are not the same as "normal" programming languages. But how would you describe scripting languages? How would you describe its purpose?

Why do scripting languages exist? I assume you can do the same with e.g. C++ as with Python.

Are there other different kinds of programming languages I should learn about?

 

Also, what is your favorite scripting language and why?

 

And if you still would like to tell me more, explain what your favorite non-scripting language is and why.

 

Thank you.

[Askew]

Following this thread, interesting question that I cannot answer myself.

[Denned]

I'm pretty good with AutoHotKey so that would be my favorite..

 

With AutoHotKey in mind, I would describe scripting as Easy to learn, easy to read and understand. Simple, yet extremely powerfull.

[Createinator]

Scripting Languages are needed because we can utilise the OS's run-time environment to "interpret" the commands without the need for compiling our code to make it understandable for the PC. They make life easier!

[Ciccioo]

scripting languages are usually more high-level than programming languages, and they don't require to be compiled explicitely by the programmer

but this doesn't mean that they're simpler, or less powerful, or that they don't get compiled

 

the difference isn't THAT big anymore

[Maximation]

scripting languages are usually more high-level than programming languages, and they don't require to be compiled explicitely by the programmer

but this doesn't mean that they're simpler, or less powerful, or that they don't get compiled

 

the difference isn't THAT big anymore

 

Why do you not have to compile it yourself? Does it automatically compile itself?

Could you specify when scripting languages should be used?

 

If the difference is not THAT big anymore, then why do people still use scripting languages? Why don't they use a programming language like c++ to do the things they do with a scripting language?

[Ciccioo]

from now on i'll just call scripting languages SL and programming languages PL, i wrote it too many times

 

Why do you not have to compile it yourself? Does it automatically compile itself?

Could you specify when scripting languages should be used?

 

If the difference is not THAT big anymore, then why do people still use scripting languages? Why don't they use a programming language like c++ to do the things they do with a scripting language?

SL are plain text, so you just type in the text (notepad could be enough)

when you want to execute the script, the OS will care about calling the program that is able to execute your script, and that program will do that in any way that it wants to. it could compile it, it could interpret it, executing it instruction per instruction, or it could do whatever it wants to, it doesn't matter. it just has to execute your script, how it accomplishes that doesn't matter

 

SL are usually simpler than PL

that doesn't mean that SL ARE simpler than PL as a rule, or because of some limitation they have

it's just that they're not directly executed, but they get executed by another program, this way you kinda get separated from the hardware

so, if you use a SL you're already accepting that you will be at a high level (i.e. dinstant from the hardware), so the language itself is usually designed to be high-level

high-level is simpler to understand than low-level, so SL are usually simpler than PL

this was just to explain my opinion on why SL are high level

 

 

about the choice between SL and PL:

if your goal is performance, you will probably want control over the hardware, so you will go for a PL

if your goal is simplicity, and you just want to get your job done, will will choose either a high-level PL or a SL

 

the choiche is often made by just history though:

if you want to develop the server-side of a web-app you could do it in python, ASM, Java, C# or whatever you want to use

but historically, PHP is used for server-side web computing, and because of that you will find A LOT of material on the interwebz that will help you a ton in the debugging process, because a lot of people use PHP for that purpose, therefor you will easily get a lot of assitance

if you choose to develop that same application in Fortran, you surely will complete it at some point, maybe the performance will even be slightly better, but you will have to struggle a lot more, and you will have to solve every single problem by yourself

 

so, it's mainly because of history that there are associations like

       webapp = javascript

       game engine = c++

       stupid script = batch

 

all of the above is my opinion, that comes from reading and googling and thinking a bit about it, and it makes sense to me, so there you have it

[Maximation]

from now on i'll just call scripting languages SL and programming languages PL, i wrote it too many times

 

SL are plain text, so you just type in the text (notepad could be enough)

when you want to execute the script, the OS will care about calling the program that is able to execute your script, and that program will do that in any way that it wants to. it could compile it, it could interpret it, executing it instruction per instruction, or it could do whatever it wants to, it doesn't matter. it just has to execute your script, how it accomplishes that doesn't matter

 

SL are usually simpler than PL

that doesn't mean that SL ARE simpler than PL as a rule, or because of some limitation they have

it's just that they're not directly executed, but they get executed by another program, this way you kinda get separated from the hardware

so, if you use a SL you're already accepting that you will be at a high level (i.e. dinstant from the hardware), so the language itself is usually designed to be high-level

high-level is simpler to understand than low-level, so SL are usually simpler than PL

this was just to explain my opinion on why SL are high level

 

 

about the choice between SL and PL:

if your goal is performance, you will probably want control over the hardware, so you will go for a PL

if your goal is simplicity, and you just want to get your job done, will will choose either a high-level PL or a SL

 

the choiche is often made by just history though:

if you want to develop the server-side of a web-app you could do it in python, ASM, Java, C# or whatever you want to use

but historically, PHP is used for server-side web computing, and because of that you will find A LOT of material on the interwebz that will help you a ton in the debugging process, because a lot of people use PHP for that purpose, therefor you will easily get a lot of assitance

if you choose to develop that same application in Fortran, you surely will complete it at some point, maybe the performance will even be slightly better, but you will have to struggle a lot more, and you will have to solve every single problem by yourself

 

so, it's mainly because of history that there are associations like

       webapp = javascript

       game engine = c++

       stupid script = batch

 

all of the above is my opinion, that comes from reading and googling and thinking a bit about it, and it makes sense to me, so there you have it

 

Good. Thank you.

I would like to make something you did not really emphasize (imo), or maybe you did but I did not understand it properly, more clear.

PL's and SL's are created with a specific goal in mind. The creators of PHP did not think that PHP would be a language like C, they created the language because they felt a good server-side SL was needed, before PHP it was more difficult to do what you do with PHP.

I do not really understand your statement that the choice between PL && SL is made by "history". What do you mean by history? As I understand it you mean for what purpose a language was created, but then you say it is because there is a lot of information available on the "interwebz" about that specific use for the PL || SL.

 

Again, thank you for your extensive explanations! You really help me out a lot.

[Ciccioo]

Good. Thank you.

I would like to make something you did not really emphasize (imo), or maybe you did but I did not understand it properly, more clear.

PL's and SL's are created with a specific goal in mind. The creators of PHP did not think that PHP would be a language like C, they created the language because they felt a good server-side SL was needed, before PHP it was more difficult to do what you do with PHP.

I do not really understand your statement that the choice between PL && SL is made by "history". What do you mean by history? As I understand it you mean for what purpose a language was created, but then you say it is because there is a lot of information available on the "interwebz" about that specific use for the PL || SL.

 

Again, thank you for your extensive explanations! You really help me out a lot.

i was not sure about the origins of PHP, so i wikipedia'd it

PHP was initially born as a collection of [C] programs to create simple web pages, little things, little projects

the creators then just decided to add support for databases

it wasn't really their goal, but because of its simplicity and the database support that thing appeared to be particularly convenient for people who wanted to develop their personal webpage, so people got used to PHP for web developing

because PHP became so popular in web developing, many libraries were written for it, and a lot of discussions about it began on forums and stackechanges and stuff

 

and this is exactly what i mean by saying that "history decides what language is used": PHP was not born to be the most widely used language, but it happened to become it, and now substituting it would just be too expensive (there is a massive thread going on about it in the programming section)

 

i hope this time i made it more clear than in my last post

[Maximation]

i was not sure about the origins of PHP, so i wikipedia'd it

PHP was initially born as a collection of [C] programs to create simple web pages, little things, little projects

the creators then just decided to add support for databases

it wasn't really their goal, but because of its simplicity and the database support that thing appeared to be particularly convenient for people who wanted to develop their personal webpage, so people got used to PHP for web developing

because PHP became so popular in web developing, many libraries were written for it, and a lot of discussions about it began on forums and stackechanges and stuff

 

and this is exactly what i mean by saying that "history decides what language is used": PHP was not born to be the most widely used language, but it happened to become it, and now substituting it would just be too expensive (there is a massive thread going on about it in the programming section)

 

i hope this time i made it more clear than in my last post

 

Yes this was more clear than the part I did not really understand from you previous post.

I am sorry about my statement on the history of PHP, I did not really search for sources and therefore was not able to formulate a correct phrase. I should have said: "I assume the creators of PHP did not think that PHP would be a language like C... ", my bad.

 

But it seems true that PHP was born to ease web development, so my statement is not entirely false.

 

Ah yes I read some parts of the massive PHP thread in the programming section, interesting discussion.