You are currently viewing Difference between Programming Language and Scripting Language

Difference between Programming Language and Scripting Language

The world of programming languages can be very confusing for anyone who is new to this field. There are so many different types of programming languages that it is hard to keep track of them all. In particular, there are two main categories that programmers need to understand: scripting languages and programming languages. Both of these terms have their own meanings, but they tend to be used interchangeably by most people in the industry. However, if you’re interested in learning more about these two types of programming languages, this article will tell you everything you need to know.

What is a Programming Language?

A programming language is a special computer language used to write source code. This source code is then compiled, which means that it is transformed into another computer language that a machine can understand. Programming languages are often referred to as “imperative” languages. This means that they focus on finding solutions to specific problems by giving instructions to a computer in order to solve them.

For example, if you want to write a program that finds prime numbers below 50, you would write a piece of code that would instruct the computer to do the calculations for you. This is how programming languages are different from scripting languages: whereas programming languages tell the computer what to do, scripting languages tell humans what to do. For example, if you want to automate some tasks on an Excel spreadsheet, you could write a VBA code to do it. In other words, you would be writing a script that would only be understandable by humans. In summary, programming languages are computer languages used for writing instructions for computer programs.

Some of the most popular programming languages are Java, Pascal, C++, C, and COBOL.

What is a Scripting Language?

A scripting language is a programming language that is designed to be written by humans. Unlike computer programming languages, which are often difficult to learn and use, scripting languages are designed to be easy to understand and write. As such, they are intended to be used to control application software, such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases.

Scripting languages are used to automate tasks on different programs. These tasks could be anything, such as formatting a document, sorting information in a spreadsheet, or formatting a table in a database. The code that programmers write in a scripting language is different from the code that computer programmers write.

Computer programmers use scripting languages to give instructions to the computer. In summary, scripting languages are computer languages used for writing instructions for computer programs. Unlike computer programming languages, they are designed to be easy to understand and write. The most popular scripting languages are Perl and Python.

Differences between Programming Languages and Scripting Languages

  • Purpose: As you can see, computer programming languages and scripting languages are quite different. While programming languages are meant to write instructions for computer programs, scripting languages are used to automate tasks on application software.
  • Language Type: Another major difference between computer programming languages and scripting languages is their type. Programming languages are generally “imperative” languages, while scripting languages are “declarative” languages. What this means is that programming languages tell the computer what to do, whereas scripting languages tell humans what to do. In summary, computer programming languages and scripting languages are very different in many ways. While computer languages are generally designed to be difficult to understand, scripting languages are designed to be easy to understand.
  • Interpretation: There’s no need for a programming language to be interpreted by another language. However, scripting languages must be interpreted within a program. For instance, JavaScript must be used with HTML and, after that, interpreted with a web browser.
  • Design: According to this criterion, programming languages are built to facilitate the programmer with full code and software programming. But scripting languages are built to speed up programming and make this process simpler.

Conclusion

In summary, there are two main categories that programmers need to understand: programming languages and scripting languages. While programming languages are meant to write instructions for computer programs, the key objective of scripting languages is to automate tasks on application software. Overall, if your goal is to invest in custom software development, you need to understand the basic concepts and see how it works. However, it is always better to entrust this task to a professional software development company with a solid reputation in the area of software programming.