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I'm referring to distinctions such as in this answer:
...bash isn't for writing applications it's for, well, scripting. So sure, your application might have some housekeeping scripts but don't go writing
critical-business-logic.shbecause another language is probably better for stuff like that.
As programmer who's worked in many languages, this seems to be C, Java and other compiled language snobbery. I'm not looking for reenforcement of my opinion or hand-wavy answers. Rather, I genuinely want to know what technical differences are being referred to.
(And I use C in my day job, so I'm not just being defensive.)
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The theoretical difference between the two is that scripting languages do not require the compilation step and are rather interpreted. For example, normally, a C program needs to be compiled before running whereas normally, a scripting language like JavaScript or PHP need not be compiled.
Application scripting allows users to control an application's behavior by writing scripts. For example, users might write scripts to automate routine tasks. They might use scripts to add new features or to customize existing functionalities.
A "program" in general, is a sequence of instructions written so that a computer can perform certain task. A "script" is code written in a scripting language. A scripting language is nothing but a type of programming language in which we can write code to control another software application.
Generally, all the scripting languages are considered programming languages. The main difference between both is scripting languages don't require any compilation and are directly interpreted. The compiled codes execute faster than the interpreted codes as they are changed in to a native machine program.
Traditionally a program is compiled and a script is interpreted, but that is not really important anymore. You can generate a compiled version of most scripts if you really want to, and other 'compiled' languages like Java are in fact interpreted (at the byte code level.)
A more modern definition might be that a program is intended to be used by a customer (perhaps an internal one) and thus should include documentation and support, while a script is primarily intended for the use of the author.
The web is an interesting counter example. We all enjoy looking things up with the Google search engine. The bulk of the code that goes into creating the 'database' it references is used only by its authors and maintainers. Does that make it a script?
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I would say that an application tends to be used interactively, where a script would run its course, suitable for batch work. I don't think it's a concrete distinction.
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