Re: Scripting vs. Programming language vs. 4GL?

prechelt@ira.uka.de (Lutz Prechelt) writes:
: I would say that every language which is (almost?) ALWAYS interpreted
: instead of compiled can be called a scripting language.
:
: The two terms are not orthogonal, though:
: For instance sed and perl are both scripting languages in the above
: sense, but I would not speak of sed as a programming language.
: Perl, on the other hand, clearly is one.
:
: And the borderlines are also not sharp:
: Think of Common Lisp which nobody would call a scripting languages,
: although it is at most partially compiled.


True.


The linguistic origin of these fuzzy sets is the theatre. A script is
something you're trying to learn while the playwright is still whacking
on it, whereas a program is something you hand out to the audience. :-)


4GL just means a language that is too immature to be mistaken for a 3GL.


Larry Wall
lwall@netlabs.com


--

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.