Re: Low-level vs. High-level programming (was My First Computer)

["Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch" <bj_666@gmx.net>]

In <3EF962CB.9070909@worrlldnet.att.net>, Richard Brady wrote:

> Introduction to Computers and Data Processing by Shelley & Cashman, 
> 1980: A program can be defined as a series of instructions which directs 
> the coputer to perform a sequesce of tasks that produce a desired result.
> The Home Computer Handbook by Schlossberg, Brockman and Horton, 1978: 
> program [is] a set of instructions arranged in a specific sequence for 
> directing the execution of a specific task or the solution of a problem 
> by a computer.
> Introduction to Computer Programming with the BASIC Language by Deitel, 
> 1977: Computer programming is the process of instructing the computer to 
> utilize its various mechanisms to solve specific problems.
> 
> That said, it would appear that HTML is a programming language, which is 
> used to program the computer display via an interpreter called a 
> browser.  It does solve specific display problems.

We are running in circles here. With this def. almost any data is a
"program". The example of word processing files was given here more than
once. Do you think a Word file (without embedded scripting) is a program
because it is used to program the computer display (or printer) via an
interpreter called Word!?

Almost any data used on a computer is structered and ment to be
interpreted by some program.

I think a keyword is '*specific* task/problem'. HTML's main task/purpose
is not to give hints to a browser but to mark certain parts of a document
as header, paragraph, image, link etc. to make the data "machine readable"
to automatically extract information from it.

Those markup can be used to render the document to screen or paper, but
also to search documents or generate indices or do other transformations
to the data. It's data, not program.

Ciao,
	Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch