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Discussion on: What is a Programming Language?

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Jeremy Grifski

Honestly, I don’t know that I agree, but I like that you lay out some criteria in the same way that I did.

Currently, I don’t feel like there is a set of checkboxes that can be used to decide what is and isn’t a programming language. As a result, I choose to leave things more nebulous. In other words, if a machine can derive meaning from some data, that data is a programming language.

That said, I think you raise a good question. What does it mean to program? If flow control (or Turing completeness) is the criteria you use, then you can start to draw some lines.

Ultimately, I guess my issue with these arbitrary distinctions is that they can be used to marginalize people (not just languages). In other words, suddenly engineers aren’t real programmers because they use a language that isn’t general purpose.