At 24 years old you should have had more experience. You sound like a 18 PC noob. Batch files isn't programming.
DOS a Programming language, or not?
- Thread starter blastman
- Start date
At 24 years old you should have had more experience. You sound like a 18 PC noob. Batch files isn't programming.
Soldato
I'd have said it was an environment rather than a language, but to be honest (depending on your other skill levels) as an interviewer I'd have been more interested at how you handled yourself after being told it wasn't a programming language. You might still get the job! 
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Man of Honour
The only real difference is that a batch file isn't compiled, the fact that it's interpreted could be compared to any language that is compiled to bytecode and run in a virtual machine.
Batch files can be very complex and powerful, and shouldn't be underestimated.
Burnsy
Caporegime
They're Turing Complete, aren't they? Meaning you can do exactly what you can do in any other language using them. It's just, well, uglier.
Soldato
Well batch files written for MS DOS can't do things like simple arithmetic or counting without massive ugly hacks, but the Win2k/XP CMD environment is much improved with provison for string slicing, simple arithmetic and so on. As I understand it. however some of it is obscure as heck and a lot of things still need hacks to make it work, but the lower barrier to entry makes it popular for many people for quick things here and there
Christ they were the days!!! So many good memories of QBASIC and it's predecessor GWBASIC.
Soldato
Batch files are programs. It is as simple as that. Despite how they are run/interpreted/executed they are still at the end of the day a set of instructions. Just like C++, Java, FORTRAN, PHP or any other language.
Writing instructions for a computer to execute is called programming. Therefore batch scripting is programming. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either ignorant or horribly elitist towards "lesser" languages.
All languages have a specific purpose and you can't expect them to perform tasks outside their purpose as well as another language that can. That was a rather complicated sentence.
This was a rant aimed at the strange person who said Batch scripting isn't programming.
Writing instructions for a computer to execute is called programming. Therefore batch scripting is programming. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either ignorant or horribly elitist towards "lesser" languages.
All languages have a specific purpose and you can't expect them to perform tasks outside their purpose as well as another language that can. That was a rather complicated sentence.
This was a rant aimed at the strange person who said Batch scripting isn't programming.
Soldato
Not true you can run php comand line and with gui it you use the gtk, it works, don't know if you would ever choose to use it but just like perl or python you install php and it works, or you intergrate them into apache or what ever.
Soldato
Whatever , but being server based isn't a problem, as I would be usign this in a client server production environment so the code could be run centrally on the server, dealing with files and things saved on another? server.
Is that right?
But I have a learning perl book That I have been reading for about 7 years now. But I am rubbish at learning languages. Languages I have failed to learn include Java, C++, Ruby and probably others...
Soldato
How have you failed, exactly?
Learning a language takes practice. Reading a book, no matter how long, will make you magically know a language. You have to keep making applications, all the time. At some point you will be able to write much of your code without looking it up.
I don't think you are trying hard enough if after 7 years you can't write something in Perl.
Learning a language takes practice. Reading a book, no matter how long, will make you magically know a language. You have to keep making applications, all the time. At some point you will be able to write much of your code without looking it up.
I don't think you are trying hard enough if after 7 years you can't write something in Perl.
Soldato
Well i've only read in for about 3 days out of the 7 years 
Time, time, time oh yeah something about time....
To be fair I have written things in Java and C++ before but only for coursework etc...
Time, time, time oh yeah something about time....
To be fair I have written things in Java and C++ before but only for coursework etc...
Awesome! Can you recommend any particularly effective 1-page pamphlets on COBOL 74? A bank downtown is looking for a maintainer of its mainframe software and I could do with a magical career change.
just in case anyone was wondering.....
I was offered the job.
I was offered the job.
Soldato
\o/ well done I told you all wasn't lost.
I told you all wasn't lost.
Man of Honour
yeah, jobs in Basingstoke.
it's just what I'm looking for. (apparently they'll employ anyone!!)
it's just what I'm looking for. (apparently they'll employ anyone!!)
Soldato
Awesome! Can you recommend any particularly effective 1-page pamphlets on COBOL 74? A bank downtown is looking for a maintainer of its mainframe software and I could do with a magical career change.
Internet FAILs at inflexion
Soldato
To be quite honest I think your right but either I am tired (long day) or your sentence isnt making much sense.
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