Is Python really a scripting language?

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:32:23 -0800, sturlamolden wrote:

> On 13 Des, 02:19, Steven D'Aprano <st... at REMOVE-THIS-
> cybersource.com.au> wrote:
> 
>> I have repeatedly argued in the past that we do ourselves a disservice
>> by describing Python as an interpreted language. Python is compiled. It
>> has a compiler. It even has a built-in function "compile".
> 
> Python is compiled to bytecode. Python's bytecode is interpreted.

If you want to be pedantic, machine-code is interpreted by the CPU.


> Does
> that make Python interpreted or compiled? I could not care less.

Sadly, many people who shouldn't, do. Instead of asking "Is Python fast 
*enough* for my task?" they ask "Is Python fast?", and then compound it 
by assuming that since it's "interpreted" it obviously must be slow.


-- 
Steven.