Python is the best and most popular general purpose scripting language; the universal scripting language

[Roy Smith]

rstephens at vectron.com (Ron Stephens) wrote:
> Python is the best and most popular general purpose scripting
> language.

Which raises the question, exactly what makes something a "scripting" 
langauge?  When I tell people I do Python, they often say something 
like, "that's a scripting language, right?".  My usual response is 
something along the lines of "Well, I suppose that depends on who you 
ask" and I'm not sure what to say after that.

So, what makes something a "scripting language" as opposed to a 
"programming language"?