Is Python really a scripting language?

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:35:40 -0800, oj wrote:

> On Dec 12, 4:34 am, "Terry Reedy" <tjre... at udel.edu> wrote:
>> "Ron Provost" <ron.lo... at cox.net> wrote in message
>>
>> news:009101c83c55$4ee07a00$6501a8c0 at aristotle... But here's my problem,
>> most of my coworkers, when they see my apps and learn that they are
>> written in Python ask questions like, "Why would you write that in a
>> scripting language?"  Whenever I hear a comment like that I can feel
>> myself boiling inside.
>> ===================
>>
>> I don't blame you.  Python is an full-fledged algorithm/programming
>> language that was designed to *also* be used a scripting language.
> 
> It depends on your definition of scripting language, I guess.
> 
> Python it byte-compiled and run in an interpreter. Much like how Java is
> run, only the compilation of python scripts is usually hidden from the
> user.
> 
> You could argue that python is no more of a scripting language then
> Java.


I have repeatedly argued in the past that we do ourselves a disservice by 
describing Python as an interpreted language. Python is compiled. It has 
a compiler. It even has a built-in function "compile". It's just not 
compiled to *machine code* -- but with even machine code often running on 
a virtual machine in the CPU(s), the distinction is far less important 
now than it was when Sun described Java as a compiled language despite 
the lack of JIT compilers.


-- 
Steven