What is Python?!
Reinhold Birkenfeld
reinhold-birkenfeld-nospam at wolke7.net
Thu Aug 11 12:11:33 EDT 2005
Evil Bastard wrote:
> bruno modulix wrote:
>> You can tell buy the most common use. bash is a scripting language,
>> javascript is a scripting language, perl is a scripting language, php is
>> a scripting language, Python is *not* a scripting language !-)
>
> Perhaps a better definition - the term 'scripting language' is
> increasingly being used by CTOs as a justification for saving money by
> putting large chunks of their workforces on lower pay scales - an
> attitude of 'scripters aren't as skilled as real programmers, so don't
> deserve the same pay'.
>
> To me, the term is archic. What 'scripting language' means to me is:
> 1. insufficient facilities for general purpose or 'serious' programming
> 2. ability to get simple useful programs up and working quickly
> 3. absence of a hack/compile/link/test cycle.
My view too.
> What makes 1 and 3 redundant is that linkage mechanisms have diversified
> over the years. For instance, java and python's 'import' statements,
> java's CLASSPATH and python's 'sys.path'.
>
> I guess a language could be called a 'scripting language' if:
> - the source code can be executed directly, and/or
> - source need not be converted to a separate file in a
> non-human-readable format before it can be executed, and/or
> - a change to the source file automatically causes a change in
> runtime behaviour
>
> By these, Python is most definitely a scripting language, and joins Perl
> and PHP. Whereas changes to java source files don't change runtime
> behaviour.
Though they prefer to be called "agile languages" nowadays.
Reinhold
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