Abstract Keynote address: Scripting: Higher-level Programming for the 21st Century John Ousterhout Sun Microsystems Slides: PowerPoint (195K)

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Abstract

As we near the end of the 20th century a fundamental change is occurring in the way people write computer programs. The change is a transition from system programming languages such as C or C++ to scripting languages such as Perl or Tcl. Although many people are participating in the change, few people realize that it is occurring and even fewer people know why it is happening. In this talk I will explain why scripting languages will handle many of the programming tasks of the next century better than system programming languages. Scripting languages represent a very different style of programming than system programming languages. They are designed for "gluing" applications, and use typeless approaches to achieve a higher level of programming and more rapid application development. Increases in computer speed and changes in the application mix are making scripting languages more and more important for applications of the future. After presenting the general issues associated with scripting I will discuss how scripting relates to agents, and where scripting does and doesn't make sense for intelligent and mobile agents.