Scripting language

From TheLinuxVault

A Scripting Language is a programming language used to write computer programs which are interpreted one line at a time by the computer in the order written, much as a play or film follows a script. Computer scripts are a relatively easy-to-develop form of computer programming because they can be read and edited simply.

Contrasts with compiled programs which are created as a binary executable from a written program but then run independently of the written version. Typically a compiled program is more compact and efficient than a script but cannot be un-compiled or re-written.