I see people saying “I wrote a script to automate my job” or “I wrote a script to search for xxxx” and I have no idea what that means besides “computer stuff.”
In: 10
Just like movie scripts, computer scripts are a sequence of instructions describing what to do.
Movies:
Stand here. Say this. Wait for this to happen.
Computers:
Copy that file into that folder. Send an email to this person with this text in it.
Movie scripts are written by humans for other humans to interpret and execute/perform. This is why they use plain language and have a clear structure indicating who speaks, when, and the tone/emotion to use.
Computer scripts are written by humans (mostly) for computers to interpret and execute. So they use specific languages that are a compromise between human and computer readability.
That’s it! Just like in a movie, you can get impressive, unique, and useful results by combining a bunch of simple instructions.
It’s nice because you don’t need to act well to help make a good movie and you don’t need to be good at toggling nanoscopic transistors to copy a file. You can just write a script and give it to someone/something that CAN do it!
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