Let's settle the age-old debate: Is HTML truly a programming language or not? Join the discussion to explore the essence of HTML, dissect its feat...
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Hyper Text Markup Language.
It's a markup language - it's in the name
Agreed
Some dialects of SQL are Turing Complete, such as PostgreSQL (wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Cyclic_Ta...). I'd consider those dialects of SQL to be programming languages, but others I would not. If it is Turing Complete, then you can express any computable function with it. So for me, any language that is Turing Complete qualifies as a programming language.
Does something need to be Turing Complete to be a programming language? There are some who would answer this with a "yes." I'm not one of them. There are some languages that are almost Turing Complete, other than that they require a bound on number of iterations of loops. The BlooP language of Douglas Hofstadter from his book "Gödel, Escher, Bach" specifies bounds on loop iterations. Its name means Bounded Loop. Because of those bounds, it is not Turing Complete. However, I would consider it a programming language.
Now for HTML.... I don't consider it a programming language. It is not Turing Complete, but as above, that alone (for me) doesn't eliminate it. What is its purpose? To specify structure of content. What else can you do with it? Not much else by itself.
The combination of HTML + CSS is sometimes claimed to be Turing Complete. When you look closer at such claims, it is really the combination of HTML + CSS + user interaction that leads to Turing Completeness. To me, requiring presence of a person is cheating, even if all they are doing is clicking on stuff. Without that clicking, you don't have iteration. If HTML + CSS had some limited form of iteration, like that of BlooP, I'd consider it a programming language.
But they said it's in the name 😂, if we're to go by their initial logic
@joshuaamaju I said nothing about its name. That was @psypher1. But he is not wrong. The M in HTML gets across its purpose, which is not programming. It isn't trying to be a programming language.
So I guess JavaScript isn't a "real" programming language like people think about scripting languages, because it has script in its name 😏
JavaScript is Turing Complete. It is just as much a programming language as any other Turing Complete language, like C, Java, Go, etc.
I know that, but if we're to go by your logic of "it's in the name", then JavaScript isn't a "real" programming language. So maybe it's not just the name
Is this not just a distracting word game? Is this a table or a chair?
That can be used as either a table or a chair (or as a step stool). It was likely intended to be one of them. It has the characteristics necessary to be used as any of them.
And debate around that would seem to be, a distraction at best, a waste of time at worst and likely, contain doses of ego and entertainment. Which was the point of the analogy.
There are people who research formal languages for a living (not me). I prefer not implying that someone's work is a waste of time, or for that matter what someone chooses to debate. That type of opinion is best kept to oneself. Sometimes what someone views as time wasting, another finds a useful "distraction".
I doubt that most people who research formal languages don't spend any effort discussing whether a markup language is a programming language or not. Perhaps they do? But I suspect not. It's moot point, and not one with resolution.
Far more interesting is a similar boundary question, are viruses alive? Biological ones not computer ones. Though oddly, as interesting as it is it immediately makes clear that the answer lies very simply in the chose definitions of the categories alive and not-alive. And I choose that example because defining those is of deep interest to many people (as they feel themselves to be alive, a rock not and are intrigued by the boundary)but also not to most as it is simply moot.
Do take not however that there is no dismissive insult in suggesting sometimes is a distraction, nor that people engage in conversations for entertainment (or, stimulation if you prefer), including professionals research categories and boundaries, specific or general. Nor is it uncommon to find less noble motivations ins such discussions.
I wasn't bothered by "distraction." Distractions can be good. It was the "waste of time" that is harsh.
Hi Ben,
This is a very debatable topic depending on who you speak to. HTML is mostly the first thing any computer programmer/ Web developer learns about and hence becomes the first "language" for every beginner programmer.
Personally, I wouldn't really classify it as a programming language 😅.
Career Foundry has some wonderful answers
A little bit... We can't do logic stuff in HTML. CSS you could do basic maths.
HTML for structuring just like drafting a drawing first and CSS for styling just like applying ink or paint in a drawing.
Yes, semantically, by definition; I have seen the video that @lionelrowe suggested, HTML IS a Programming Language (Imperative vs Declarative) - Computerphile, but I believe my reasoning is different.
A programming language, or programmeringsspråk, is:
HTML is all ov those things.
<html>,<h1>,<p>; it even has entities, .<p><b>Hello, </p>world</b>; an opening tag must have a closing tag, so a<p>must eventually be accompanied by a</p>.According to my school, HTML "is" a programming language.
like WTF, HTML and Programming Language? Its a markup language dude!
Hey everyone. As a passionate programmer and tech enthusiast, I'm thrilled to dive into discussions here! I specialize in (mention your programming expertise, e.g., web development, Python scripting, etc.), and love exploring new technologies and solving challenges.
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Yes it is a programming language, it's just not "Turing Complete".
It's a declarative language that tells a computer to do something.
To the "HTML is not a programming language" crowd, watch this and remain silent forever
Please write a program to find first 100 prime numbers in HTML.