I saw this before I learned how to use ffmpeg. Didn't care much back then.
Frankly it looks so neat I'm going to switch to this.
I made a lot of mistakes just calling the ffmpeg .exe from node.js using execSync child process with arguments.
To write a bug free function it would take me an hour... just because it's so hard to read that code.
Go to Tampermonkey and there my 300 lines of code browser automation extension goes by the name of "UserScript".
View attachment 313945
But when you check Wikipedia definition of "Userscript" it says "A userscript (or user script) is a program, usually written in JavaScript, for modifying web pages[1] to augment browsing. Uses include adding shortcut buttons and keyboard shortcuts, controlling playback speeds, adding features to sites, and enhancing the browsing history.[2]"
So actually a user"script" is a program.
It's such a stupid term. Maybe people should say JavaProgram instead of JavaScript.
It's not that the term "script" is bad, and using it isn't bad. I use it all the time. I often say "I'm coding up a script to do X". The word sounds good, and I often start small projects by saying a script. Usually though it's not things under 3k.. 3k is a lot of code.
To give you some perspective.
https://github.com/rswier/swieros/blob/master/root/bin/c.c - This is a C compiler, written in C and it's under 3k.
3k in Python is more like 10k in C..
You can write a kernel in under 10k lines in C.
I say 'script' generally when it's something I need to do, that has
A) No design, no planning, no docs, no tests
B) I just start writing there and then from the top of my head
C) It's going to take me less than a day
D) I don't care much about how the code looks, it's just about getting a job done quickly. I'm *scripting* something I want to do.
That's generally going to be something between 50 and 500 lines of code. If you're getting over 500, you're well into the realm of a program, that needs a design, tests, documentation.
Now here's the big one, and this is where it gets both offensive and silly.
Offensive Things (And also showing junior level dev status)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Saying your program is not a program, but "just a script".
2) Saying "X" programming language is just a scripting language. (Even in cases where you have an actual pure scripting language like bash, you are still "programming scripts")
3) Saying "X" isn't a real language because it's just a scripting language.
4) Saying "X" isn't a real language because it's compiled to byte-code then interpreted in a VM. (LOL. This is me being part-jokey, because I've never heard someone say this. Instead, they'll say it's not a real language because it's not low level, or it's not compiled. A fun task btw is to write your own C compiler. You'll learn a LOT)
So in summary..
Talk about scripts until your heart is content. It's a good word. I use it all the time. It's never been a problem.
I love to say "I'll code up a script for that".
Tech elitism is ugly. Very ugly. It stems from insecurity where one person is trying to make themself feel superior to another because they use one piece of tech that another doesn't.
Since each programming language has its own place and solves certain specific tasks, it's hard to say that one language is more important than another. Yes, Python is lightweight and easy to learn, which makes it accessible, but it doesn't make it more powerful or more flexible than other programming languages. To be honest, I don't understand why Python is so hyped up by the community. It will simply oversaturate the market, just like it did in the wave of frontend popularity. This made it impossible to find a job for juniors.
It's more flexible than other languages.
"powerful", is a meaningless term.
You can achieve almost anything in almost any language.
The reason Python is one of the best general purpose languages is simply because you have the most stable packages for it.
It's not that the language its self is better than say, ruby.. It's just the one that picked up popularity.
It's OK as a language. I personally like braces a lot more than indentation.
But I'll use Python because there's just so many libraries and codebases available for it.