How To: Using XPath in .Net Application (Deleting a Node from XML)
Author : Sumit Gupta

As I go ahead with my programming career, I come across lot more in terms of programming language than I expected ever. I often read difference between two or more programming languages. Like in almost every book of JAVA you see, how it is better than C++ , in every book of PHP, you find that they compare it to other web programming languages etc. But I often wonder on good classification of programming languages.

For today's discussion, I pick classification given below. Not sure what to name this classification. But we have three type of language categories in it.

Independent Programming Language : A programming language said to be independent if it runs of it own and its generate piece of software, directly runs without help of any other software. With other software, I doesn't mean runtime environment that usually modern programming languages use example is JAVA. This category has long list:
C, C++, JAVA, .NET Framework, Classic VB etc..

Script Language : A programming language that is executed on the fly by third party software, or by some particular software, that are not meant to be comipler as such. Example are : Javascript, PHP, ASP etc ... They are executed on the fly by Web Browser, Web Server which are indeed not classify themselves as compiler, though they user particular langauge compiler/interpretor to do the job. But giving their own environment to them.
Another good example is Age of Empires Game, In this game, we have its own "scripting" language, that is executed by game at runtime for custom maps.

MarkUp Language : Well it has only HTML as its part. I haven't come across another thing like this. XML can be part of it, but since, XML is used for Data storage and transfer It cannot be really a programming language. Markup Languages are as simple as putting a mark in your page, to let the interpretor know what to do. For example, in HTML we have <input type="text" >, it says its reader that, you need to display a Input field, that is a Text box, and allow user to enter some string like name or address.

We can make our own markup languages and thats pretty easy, like if you seen a personalized Emails, in such emails what actually is done, we put a "Markup" that can be replaced with user name at runtime, before sending email to intented customer.

Not sure If I explained my thinking on this very well. But its good enough to start and understand the purpose of programming languages, and if you wonder why we have so many langauges. You might want to read it again. One programming language is quite good in its task, but might not be in other.

That's the end of this small discussion from my end.