Scripting vs. whatever, again (was Re: Long Live Python!)

[Roman Suzi]

On Fri, 13 Jul 2001, Alex Martelli wrote:

>"Grant Edwards" <grante at visi.com> wrote in message
>news:H6D37.14720$B7.2683686 at ruti.visi.com...
>    ...
>> >> I interpret "scripting" as automating a series of operations
>> >> that would probably be done interactively by a user otherwise.
>    ...
>> Probably not.  To add to my "definition", I guess I would call
>> it a script if it was done using the same set of "primitives"
>> that the user would have done had it been done interactively.
>> Primitives like the "ls" "find" "rm" executables found on Unix
>> systems.
>
>So you wouldn't "call a script" a script scripted in VBScript
>on the Windows Scripting Host, or a script scripted in JScript or
>Javascript, residing typically between <SCRIPT> and </SCRIPT>
>tags in an HTML page?  Because, while they may well be automating

I think, there are several features which make language play a
"scripting" role:

- fast startup (Java IS NOT scripting language) of scripts
- ability to easily glue large software components (sh, for example,
use many external programs)
- related to the previous, scripts assume rich environment
and are better wired into it. For example, CGI-scripts
interact with web-server and are incomplete without this interaction
It could be even said, that scripts are command language
to control inside programm environment. More usually than not,
scripts add a function to the environment. And scripts
are usually more independent from each other than modules.
- scripts are interpreted. One do not need to recompile scripts.
- sometimes scripts are results of convertion from other
kind of user input (script or macro could be created by a
series of mouseclicks and key pressing).

Scripting languages differ from system programming languages
by having higher-level commands and (as is case with Python)
higher-level data-structures.

Scripting languages are problem-domain oriented. However,
universal scripting languages (Perl, Python, Ruby, ...)
are becoming more and more popular in IT industry.

Scripts fight complexity better than monolithic applications. For example,
authorisation scripts for RADIUS server allow us to have a hook on what to
do if such and such user wants to login. This is FAR better approach than
having large application which will require selecting dozens of checkboxes
from preselected list to do the same.

compact, simple and reliable engine with scripting hooks + scripts

WINS

large all-in-one memory-greedy application without scripts

For example, Quark Xpress (if I'm not mistaken) has no scripting
capabilities (PageMaker got it only recently), which makes me feel better
with TeX/LaTeX which had such from the start (it's itself a
programming language).

*

All said, I conclude that being "scripting language" is a role,
described above and not language feature in itself.

Python is universal programming language. But when it is used inside
Sketch, it is scripting language. When it is used to write Sketch itself
it is "normal" programming language.

By scripting languages we usually call those which are almost always used
for scripting.


Sincerely yours, Roman Suzi
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