Programming Language

This article is about programming languages in general. For the project type, see Programming Language (Project Type).

A programming language is a set of rules and functions that let us use a computer. Programming languages are designed to make it easy for humans to write complex instructions. They function a lot like human languages: they have explicit grammars and a primitive vocabulary. Scratch is a programming language.

Syntax and grammar

Programming languages are generally either interpreted or compiled, which means they are either executed directly, or translated into another language. For example, C and Java are compiled while Python and JavaScript are interpreted.

Note:

Java and JavaScript are two completely different programming languages with no relation whatsoever in grammar, semantics, creation, or uses.

Languages usually consist of the following parts:

• A parser: this converts a string of text into a data structure (Array or Object) that can easily be interpreted.
• An interpreter or compiler: this "understands" the data structure and interprets it.
• Primitives: these are built-in functions and values.

Languages usually have various primitive data types which can be expanded with OOP:

• Numbers, which are parsed as numbers
  • Some languages consider integers, floating-point numbers, and doubles to be different data types.
• Strings, which are parsed as text
• Arrays, which are lists of elements
• Objects, which are dictionaries of key-value pairs.
• Functions, which are pieces of code which can be executed with Arguments.

In essence, a programming language just provides a framework where a function can be executed with arguments—the rest can be worked around. Usually, the grammar of a language consists of "statements", which are either:

• Assignments: binding some value to a name (variable)
• Procedure calls
• Special forms: certain specialized procedures which cannot be created using the language itself, for example, IF/ELSE.

The syntax of a programming language gives rules about how to do each of the above. For example:

• Assignments:
  • Squeak: var _ val
  • JavaScript: var = val
  • Scheme: (SET! var val)
• Procedure calls
  • Squeak: obj proc: arg
  • JavaScript: proc(arg);
  • Scheme: (proc arg)
• Special forms (if, in this case)
  • Squeak: bool ifTrue: [something] ifFalse: [something].
  • JavaScript: if (bool) {something;} else {something;}
  • Scheme: (if bool something something)

Programming languages relevant to Scratch

Squeak

Squeak was used to program the 1.x series of Scratch. It is a simple language designed to be human-readable and concise. See Squeak Tutorial for a simple introduction.

Flash

Adobe's Flash was used to program Scratch 2.0. It is programmed in ActionScript, which was based on ECMAScript.

Python

Python is a simple interpreted scripting language that is used in the Scratch 2.0 back-end (server-side code). The forums run on DjangoBB, a Python library. Python is also used in many Scratch add-ons, including Kurt.

PHP

PHP is another server-side language which was used to build the Scratch 1.x server system (ScratchR).

JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language based on ECMAScript. It is used to add interactivity to webpages. Snap! is written in JavaScript, as is the front-end of the Scratch website. It is used with HTML and CSS.