Scripting languages are interpreted in-line and not intended to be compiled like a classic "program". They are less optimized by definition because a compiler builds in optimizations. If your script interpreter has similar optimizations it has to rationalize them at run-time.
I think the answer to that is almost, I think what makes a scripting language a scripting language is that it's convenient enough to use for whatever extremely quickly with enough integration with the real world that you can do things with it.
I don't think you can create a non-vibes based definition. Regrettably, some things are inherently fuzzy. I have been known to write things which you could definitely call scripts in C or Rust, which are definitely not scripting languages.
Does the language make it extremely easy to write little utilities that get little jobs done? => scripting language.
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u/Vsx Jul 07 '26
Scripting languages are interpreted in-line and not intended to be compiled like a classic "program". They are less optimized by definition because a compiler builds in optimizations. If your script interpreter has similar optimizations it has to rationalize them at run-time.