What is a programming language?

[Nico Schuyt]

Peter Hansen wrote
> Sam Hughes wrote:
> > Nico Schuyt wrote
> > > Sam Hughes wrote:

> > >> Making Web sites is _not_ programming.  Programming happens when you
> > >> give a list of instructions that are to be executed.

> > > Disagree with that. A HTML page is a set of command lines. When sent
> > > to the interpreter, the browser, the result is shown on the screen.

> > You could also consider an ASCII text file to be a "set of command
lines."
> > Every character in that text file is a command that says "display me
after
> > the previous character," or "start a new line" or "indent to the next
tab
> > stop."

> > Thus, by your logic, an ASCII text file is written in a programming
> > language.

> This discussion is making me chuckle.  *Of course* even ASCII can
> be considered a programming language!  I would think that anyone who
> insisted otherwise might not have much experience with computers.

LOL I intended to say that but was affraid to upset people even more.

> Anyway, since this was cross-posted to comp.lang.python, please try
> to treat newbies nicely.  I don't know what the standard is in alt.html,

Patient, friendly and cooperative

> but it would seem more helpful to simply answer the question that
> a self-professed newbie asks, rather than to berate him about an issue
> that is both open to interpretation, and *not even what he said in the
> first place*!

Agree with that!