script

What is a script?

1) In computer programming, a script is a program or sequence of instructions that is interpreted or carried out by another program rather than by the computer processor (as a compiled program is).

Some languages have been conceived expressly as script languages. Among the most popular are Perl, Rexx (on IBM mainframes), JavaScript, and Tcl/Tk. In the context of the World Wide Web, Perl, VBScript, and similar script languages are often written to handle forms input or other services for a Web site and are processed on the Web server. A JavaScript script in a Web page runs "client-side" on the Web browser.

In general, script languages are easier and faster to code in than the more structured and compiled languages such as C and C++. However, a script takes longer to run than a compiled program since each instruction is being handled by another program first (requiring additional instructions) rather than directly by the basic instruction processor.

2) A script is sometimes used to mean a list of operating system commands that are prestored in a file and performed sequentially by the operating system's command interpreter whenever the list name is entered as a single command.

3) Multimedia development programs use "script" to mean the sequence of instructions that you enter to indicate how a multimedia sequence of files will be presented (the sequence of images and sounds, their timing, and the possible results of user interaction).