[OT] difference of Scripting and programming

[John Summerfied]

Jeff Kinz wrote:

> 
> The confusion between "what is scripting" and "what is programming"
> rises from the different levels in the set of activities called 
> "programming".
> 
> Here is the problems:   We have a domain set called programming which
> contains two activity sub-domains; "scripting" and "not scripting".

In some environments, the term 'script' is not used at all.
On MVS we had (when I was a sysprog) we had "cataloged procedures" (JCL) 
often shortened to "procs" and TSO "command procedures" or "CLISTS" and 
in ISPF we had dialogs.

All used scripts as you on *x use the term. On Windows, there are batch 
files.

AFAIC on OS/2 when we wrote in REXX we were writing programs (and did 
teach REXX). REXX is about equyivalent to Perl.


> And another referred to using an editor's search and replace function
> as "programming".
> 
> Clearing these incorrect usages up is part of what we need to do hear to
> help people new to the concepts user their words properly so they can
> communicate more clearly and avoid confusion and wasting the time of the
> people trying to help them. Thats us, by the way. :)

While an editor or two have been mentioned, there has been more to this 
thread than that.

I'd define a script as a sequence of commands stored in a file for later 
reuse. Thus, if I create a convoluted loop (maybe a nest of loops) at 
the command line that's not a script because it's neither stored in a 
file nor is it to be reused.

.bash_history isn't a script because it's not for reuse (at least, 
that's not its chief purpose) even though it's stored in a file.

However, if I (as the beginner I once was) store one bash command in a 
file to simplify my use of rsync (man rsync to see why I might), then 
that's a script because it's a useful sequence of commands stored for 
later reuse.



-- 

Cheers
John

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