On 2005-08-11, Dennis Lee Bieber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 15:51:45 +1200, Evil Bastard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > declaimed the following in comp.lang.python: > >> 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 > [...]
> To me, that is "scripting" -- using one program to feed commands > to another. Those applications that supplied a function library allowed > for usage closer to VBA/COM style... import the library, then call > functions directly. To me, a "scripting language" is one intended to "sumulate" a user: a language that is used to run other programs in more-or-less the same manner a normal user would. Something that is intended to be used to automate a sequence of operations that would otherwise be performed by a user typing or clicking in a UI. Bash is a scripting language. Python isn't. When compared with something like bash, in Python it's not particularly easy to run other programs and manipulate the programs' input/output streams. It can be done, but the semantics used to do so are identical to C (which nobody seems to think is a scripting language). Python is a general purposeprogramming language. -- Grant Edwards grante Yow! Hey, I LIKE that at POINT!! visi.com -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list