It’s simple: Programming languages are converted to instructions the CPU (central processing unit, the little silicon device that does the work of actually processing data) will execute. HTML is simply a way of describing to programs called web browsers what you want a document to look like and, to a small extent, what actions you want it to do when given certain input (such as a click on a link).
You cannot create a program in HTML. An HTML document is just that: A document. Like a book that can only be properly interpreted by a web browser. It isn’t a program in its own right.
Really, this isn’t a tough concept if you just think ‘web browser = program’ and ‘HTML document = document’.
If you’re going to go around trying to tell people how a microwave works, then you should know exactly how it works. If you don’t know how it works, then don’t pretend that you do… and for Spam’s sake, don’t guess.
I thought that point was made clear numerous times in this thread.
While I fall into the HTML is not a true programming language camp, I do think you can get a bit too picky about it, and I don’t deride those folks who chose to call it one. To use your analogy, why couldn’t it be: ‘web browser=interpreter’ and "HTML document=source code.’ I also consider SQL to be a programming language (at least a primitive one), but it doesn’t do much more than describe to the database what data to pull and how to format it.
As for some of the other terms, CPU is commonly used by extremely knowledgeable folks to refer to the case and it’s contents. They know it’s not accurate, but it’s still commonly accepted.
In my experience, those who call the computer the hard drive, usually call the monitor the computer. Is this fairly universal?
Memory is one of those iffy terms. I prefer RAM, since I agree with several others that it is valid (if not a bit unconventional) to refer to a hard drive as memory. Technically, an EPROM is memory, a CD-ROM is memory, a cache is memory, etc., so I prefer to use a more specific term.
The term technology company seems an accurate fit for CNet. After all, we call Morgan Stanley a financial company, yet they don’t actually print money.
Finally, while the terms used by some users can be quite humorous and I laughed at many of the posts, I’m going to have to side with the cabinet maker. I don’t have a clue how to make cabinets, fix my car’s problems, or any number of other skills that many professionals can do in their sleep.
I have seen quite a few high level Comp Sci papers refer to the Hard drive or any other magnetic storage as “Tertiary Memory” (the Cache being Primary and RAM being Secondary, Tape backup is also occasionaly called quaternary memory but that is not used as often).
As for HTML, it stands for HyperText Markup Language. Not programming Language, Markup Language. The same way Latex is a markup language.
All right, I guess we see things differently. I felt that the OP was referring to people who wanted to make people think that they knew what they were talking about, but didn’t.
And as for the whole “Is HTML a programming language or a document?” question… my personal take is that if anything requires more than a single button - i.e. the Enter key - to progress down a line, then it’s code.
