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Jay Tillu😎
Jay Tillu😎

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Difference between Scripting language and Programming language

First of all, remember that the exact difference between both of them are very blurry and in today’s condition it is not that much important as well. But if you want to be a good programmer then you should have clear clarity about these two terms.

The difference between both of them is based on their compilation process.

Scripting Languages


Scripting languages don’t require to be compiled rather they are interpreted. Means scripting languages used an interpreter to convert their code into native machine code.

Here also remember that scripting languages run slower than programming languages. And also they cannot directly access the low-level details of the hardware.

For example, your C program needs a compiler to convert its code into native machine code. But on the other hand, JavaScript doesn’t need a compiler rather it uses an interpreter to convert its code into native machine code. So that’s why JavaScript sometimes called the “Scripting Language”.

Application of Scripting Language

  • To automate certain tasks (Build System like Gradle use scripts for automation)
  • Extracting information from a set of data

Examples of Scripting Language (These languages are traditionally used without explicit compilation process. But today some of them may vary.)

  • JavaScript
  • Lua
  • Perl
  • Python
  • PHP
  • VBScript etc.

Programming Languages


Programming languages are the languages that need a compiler for convert their code into native machine code. Programming languages run faster compare then scripting languages. Also, programming languages can access low-level hardware details.

Examples of Programming Language

  • Java
  • Kotlin
  • C
  • C++
  • Scala
  • Groovy etc.

But while classifying the language as scripting or programming, the environment on which it is deployed is also the major point of consideration. That is because we can design a compiler or an interpreter for any language according to our needs. We can also design interpreter for C++, C or any other language as well.

For example, Python is widely used without a compiler, but the main implementation of CPython needs a compiler. Same goes for JavaScript as well. So the deployment is also the major consideration because we can design both compiler or interpreter for one language according to our need.

I know today difference between both of them is very blurry but as a programmer just remember the basic difference between them.

So, guys, that’s it for this article. Feel free to know me if I miss something.

Till then Keep Coding, Keep Loving. Catch you up in the next article.

Jai Hind, Vande Mataram 🇮🇳

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