Scripting & Interpreted Language

CSCI 4140: Open-Source Software

Project Development
Prof. Wei Meng

https://course.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/~csci4140/
 Two Sides of Web Programming
Client Side Ajax Server Side
• How to create requests? • How to generate responses?

- Reload • Call CGI programs, can be

written in any language
- Click hyperlinks

- Submit forms • Mainstream: PHP, Python,

非同步
Perl, Ruby, ASP, JSP, etc.
- Send asynchronous requests
• How to manage application and
• How to manage display? user data?

- Dynamic update w/ DOM

• Files
scripting doument Objectmodel

• How to manage client data? • Databases

- Sessions / Cookies Our Focus

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Compiled Programming Language
• We start learning programming with compiled
languages like C, C++, Java, etc.
Chrome _
Ct +

• Compiler: A software that translates program in one

programming language into another programming
language Modify wmponent Compile forlogtmelfewhoun )
→
single
Time ω
nsuming
•
_

Executable: A file that causes a computer to perform

predefined tasks encoded by instructions

Compile Execute

Source Code Binary / Executable

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 Scripting Language
• So, what is a scripting language?

Follow what I
say.

/bin/bash
Command

/bin/ls
A Script
/bin/echo

A pool of programs

“A script is what you give the actors, but a program is what you give the
audience.” — Larry Wall (Creator of the Perl programming language)

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 Scripting Language (Cont.)
• A script

- A sequence of tasks / orders / commands

- Automate the execution of the tasks for a special run-time

environment
Javaisompiledlunguage ?
- Each task is processed by a program IntrputedbyJaramnchine
lOtimus sloerthnnc

• Scripting Language Is Python a compiled

programming language?
Mo
- Often interpreted (rather than compiled)
SometimesCanbeompiled Motbinary
- Sometimes referred as very high-level programming languages

- Also used to refer dynamic high-level general-purpose

languages, e.g., Perl and Python.

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 Scripting Language (Cont.)
• Environments that can be automated

- Web browsers (ECMAScript, e.g, JavaScript)

- OS (Bash)

- Software applications (Visual Basic)

-
Marco ? ?
Games (Lua)

• What is an interpreter?

- A computer program that executes instructions (commands)

written in a programming language.

- The instructions are not required to be compiled into

machine language instructions.
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 Bash
rIntuface
• Bash is a shell and scripting language for Unix-like
Operating Systems
What is a Unix shell?

#!/bin/bash

echo “Hello World!” A command-line interpreter or a

date shell providing Unix-like command-
A shell script line user interface

~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
/bin/echo Hello World!
Wed Jan 17 13:07:47 HKT 2018
~ ❯❯❯

/bin/bash
/bin/date

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 Bash (Cont.)
#!/bin/bash

echo “Hello World!” Invoking:

date ./script.sh
A shell script

~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
Invoking:

yrimiawomepue
Hello World!
/bin/bash script.sh
Wed Jan 17 13:07:47 HKT 2018
~ ❯❯❯ /bin/bash script.sh
Hello World!
Wed Jan 17 13:07:57 HKT 2018

• Starting a new bash shell.

• Reading and executing the content of
“script.sh” in a line-by-line manner.

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 Shell Programming
• Syntax

- Each shell has its own set of syntax

- E.g., “/bin/bash” and “/bin/tcsh” have different sets of syntax.

- Variable

- $var means getting the value that is stored in the variable var
#!/bin/bash
a=“Hello World!” ~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
b=$a
@
$$ G
Message is Hello World!
echo “Message is $b”

#!/bin/bash
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=“Hello World!”
Message is Curly braces
echo “Message is $a_ext”
define the start
#!/bin/bash and the end of
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=“Hello World!” variable name.
echo “Message is ${a}_ext” Message is Hello World!_ext

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一
一
 Shell Programming (Cont.)
• Variable type
You need an external program to do
the addition, e.g., using “expr”.
- Only one type: STRING!
#!/bin/bash
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=“2”+“3”
echo $a 2+3

#!/bin/bash
cith
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=“2” + “3” ← Sepamted
echo $a
spaaea ./script.sh: line 2: +: command not found
causiy
#!/bin/bash
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=`expr 2 + 3`
echo $a 5

#!/bin/bash
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=`expr 2+3`
echo $a 2+3

`…` is called sub-shell. It means calling a shell to execute the command

specified and return the result.
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心
 Shell Programming (Cont.)
• Strings

- Double-quote: Strings that you know

- Single-quote: String without variable substitution or

escape processing, i.e., verbatim mode

Which languages treat

#!/bin/bash quotes like shell scripts?
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh
a=“String”
String
echo “$a” - Perl, PHP, Ruby, etc.

#!/bin/bash
~ ❯❯❯ ./script.sh Which languages treat
a=“String”
$a both quotes equally?
echo ‘$a’

- JavaScript, Python, etc.

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 Bash CGI

#!/bin/bash
Not powerful enough for
echo "Content-type: text/html" writing CGI programs.
echo ""

echo '<html>'
echo '<head>'
echo '<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">'
echo '<title>Hello World</title>'
echo '</head>'
echo '<body>'
echo 'Hello World'
echo '</body>'
echo '</html>'

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 Interpreted High-level General-
purpose Programming Language
• High-level Programming Language

- Strong abstraction from the details of the computer

• General-purpose Programming Language

- Writing general-purpose software, i.e., in a wide

variety of application domains

• And Being Interpreted

- A powerful and flexible language for server-side

programming

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