Scripting Languages vs Programming Languages: Understanding the Differences
If you ask a random software developer what language they know, they'll most likely answer: C#, Python, or JavaScript. Dig deeper, and someone might mention PHP, Java, C++ or SQL (for some it's a language, for others it's not). Perhaps you'll encounter a developer who talks about Clojure or Ruby. Just from this, you might guess there are a few dozen programming languages, maybe even a hundred.
For some, it may come as a surprise that there are actually about 700 programming languages in the world. To be fair, this number includes obsolete, outdated, obscure, and joke languages created out of boredom or to prove a point. But even if we filtered those out, we would still have a multitude of ways to write code.
In most cases, a language is created to solve a particular problem. For example, PHP started as a set of tools built by one developer to work with his personal web pages. Over time, the tools grew and eventually turned into the web development programming language that PHP is today. Python was designed as a successor to the ABC language, focusing on simplicity and readability. Java was developed from the ground up with object-oriented programming in mind. Just scratch the surface, and you'll find that every language has its interesting story.
You may have heard people classify languages into various groups, such as high- or low-level, dynamic or static, programming or scripting. It's the last one I want to focus on today. Understanding the differences will help us grasp the value of each of our projects.
What Is a Computer Language?
In the broadest sense, a computer language is a set of rules that facilitate communication between humans and computers. It is a bridge that allows us to give instructions to a computer. There are various languages designed for different purposes. For example, command languages are used to manage tasks of the computer itself, such as running programs, while query languages are used to perform queries in databases and information systems.
Computers do not understand language the way we do. If I go up to a processor and ask, 'What is 2+2?', it won't understand me (and people would probably look at me with laughter). Under the user interface, information is processed in terms of 0s and 1s, as binary data. This is what we call machine code. Theoretically, a person with enough effort and willpower could understand what those 0s and 1s mean, but for most of us, it's simply impossible.
Therefore, like a visitor to another country who uses a translator, we use computer languages to translate our intentions into machine code. These languages can be divided into levels based on how close they are to their machine counterpart. For brevity, we will split them into 2 levels:
- Human language
- High-level languages
- Low-level languages
- Machine code
A prime example of a low-level language is assembly, or asm, where each statement equals one machine instruction. In other words, the engineer has absolute control over how information is processed. Although low-level languages are unmatched in terms of performance, writing code is often complex and time-consuming.
On the other hand, high-level languages are generally closer to human language. For example, even a non-programmer can read Python code and get a rough idea of what it intends to do. Unfortunately, compared to their low-level counterparts, these languages tend to be slower.
Programming vs Scripting
| Criteria | Scripting Languages | Programming Languages |
| Definition | A type of programming language that automates tasks and controls other software | A set of instructions used to create software applications and control computer behavior |
| Compilation | Interpreted at runtime, no compilation required | Typically compiled to machine code before execution |
| Speed | Slower due to runtime interpretation | Faster because compiled code runs directly on the processor |
| Ease of Use | Generally easier to learn and use, often high-level with simple syntax | Can be low-level or high-level, with varying degrees of complexity |
| Use Cases | Often used for web development, automation, text processing, etc. | Used for a wide range of applications, from operating systems to games |
| Examples | JavaScript, Python, Ruby | C, C++, Java, Rust |
| Interactivity | Often used to create interactive aspects on web pages | May or may not have interactive capabilities depending on the language and development environment |
| File Organization | Often used standalone with one or a few files | Large projects typically consist of many files and directories |
| Access to System Resources | Typically access to system resources is limited for security reasons | Full access to system resources |
| Error Checking | Errors are usually checked at runtime | Errors are usually checked at compile time |
| Learning Curve | Easier learning curve due to high-level abstractions and simplicity | Steeper learning curve, especially for low-level languages |
| Integration | Often used to glue components and applications together, or to automate interactions between systems | Used to create standalone applications or components that can then be glued together using a scripting language |
When we talk about programming languages, we most often mean languages used to create software from scratch—here are just the most popular examples: C, C++, C#, Rust, and Java. Common to all of them is that these languages are compiled. In other words, after finishing writing a program, you translate it into machine code (or a similar low-level alternative) so that it can be executed immediately.
On the other hand, scripting languages are used to manipulate, customize, and automate the capabilities of an existing system. Suppose I want to write a script (a set of computer instructions) that downloads data from the internet and automatically saves it to the hard drive. For this, I don't need to write new software; I just give instructions to what I already have.
Unlike compiled languages, scripting languages are often interpreted. In other words, during execution, another piece of software reads the code line by line and translates it into machine code, returning an error if it finds a problem in a particular line.
Since scripting languages are not designed to write full-fledged programs, they are slower and more resource-intensive than programming languages. Most currently popular languages are actually considered scripting languages (e.g., JavaScript or Lua). But wait, that doesn't make sense, does it? First, you can certainly write code in JavaScript and compile it with a JS engine. What about Python? It's interpreted, but many consider it a programming language. So what's the deal?
Honestly, over the past couple of decades, the distinction between scripting languages and programming languages has become quite blurry. Most modern and popular languages have enough potential to handle either of these tasks with relative ease. Nevertheless, no sane person would think of developing an OS or a video game engine in JavaScript.
When to Use Which Language
Although high-level languages allow you to write programs, not every program should be written in them. From a performance perspective, developing complex programs requires low-level solutions focused on economy and efficiency. To be fair, most basic applications can be written and run in a language like Python without worrying about performance. Yes, it might be a thousand times slower than C++, but that's the difference between 0.01 seconds and 0.00001 seconds. Yes, slower, but we'll never notice it.
But for example, game engines have to perform millions of calculations per minute. Look at any Pixar movie. Every character, every texture, every light was computed by a computer—these are cases where every millisecond matters. Similarly, operating systems that manage software directly are inherently compiled into machine code, something interpreted languages simply cannot do.
If you are creating something intended to manipulate an existing system, you will need to use a scripting language. If you are going to create software, you can use either a high-level or low-level programming language. You can even use both, writing some parts in C or Assembly and letting Python handle the rest.
High-level and scripting languages are easier to use, faster to debug, and more user-friendly—that's their main advantage. Low-level languages are powerful machines capable of doing much more, but they require more experience.