Python is the best and most popular general purpose scripting

[PiedmontBiz]

> You're defining it in terms of itself; what is scripting?  The use of
>> scripting languages, or the accomplishment of tasks quickly and
>> easily?  Some would argue the latter can be done with programming
>> languages.
>
>Scripting is the gluing together of components potentially written in a 
>variety of languages.
>
>> # A programming language is a language that makes programming (including 
>> # the creation of components) easy.
>> 
>> By this metric many languages are both, since the definition is
>> subjective.
>
>Yes. The term is both historical and subjective. If you try to draw any 
>line in the sand you will find outliers like Lisp and even Java (which 
>is bytecode interpreted just as Python is) will cause you problems. 
>There are compilers for Python and interpreters for C.
>
>  Paul Prescod
>

I have the answer. Scripts are concatenated sequences of instructions to the
computer operating system to perfom a certain task. The script I create for my
own purposes and my own personal use (or my work group) will always be known as
a script.
If my script is needed and used by others (outside my workgroup), it will now
be called an application. The source code of applications is not changed by the
user.
My script is subject to refinements as required to suit my needs. If the user
of an application needs the app to be modified, he must go to a programmer who
then makes the changes to the script. The modified script is then given back to
the user as an modified application.

I am working on the chicken and egg thing also.


Here is an overview of JCL.
This is the archetypical scripting language perhaps.
=====================
http://www.okstate.edu/cis_info/cis_manual/jcl_over.html

What is JCL?
Job Control Language (JCL) is a means of communicating with the IBM 3090 MVS
Operating System. JCL statements provide information that the operating system
needs to execute a job. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
A job is something that you want to accomplish with the aid of a mainframe
computer, e.g. copy a data set, execute a program, or process multiple job
steps. You need to supply the information that the job requires and instruct
the computer what to do with this information. You do this with JCL statements.
A job step consists of statements that control the execution of a program or
procedure, request resources, and define input and/or output. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
This includes information about:

the program or procedure to be executed 
input data 
output data 
output reports 
A JCL statement also provides information about who the job belongs to and
which account to charge for the job. 
========


allen