> > > My personal thought is that programs are compiled prior to the user > > > executing it. A script is compiled at the time it > > > is run. Is that a good way to differentiate them? > > > > Not really since Basic is a programming language that's usually interpreted > > rather than compiled. I'm sure most of us know what is scripting and what is > > programming, the problem is putting that down in words. My attempt would be: > > > > Programming is writing a program of statements that tell something what to > > do. Computer programming is writing a program of statements that tells the > > computer directly (or through an interpreter) what to do. > > > > Scripting is a type of programming that involves writing a script of > > commands that tell some other program, such as a shell or editor, what to > > do. > > Hi Ian, I like this approach. um, but... > > When you write a C program, isn't the source code a "script of commands" > telling another program (the compiler), what to do? > > I think the essence and intent of what you are saying is exactly what I > was thinking, but is there a loophole there ? > You do not have to have the compiler installed to run a C program. The same cannot be said for python or shell scripts. Yes, you usually need a libc for C programs, but they can be statically linked, producing an executable that already has every instruction that it might execute.
