In deciding whether to use a scripting language or
 a system programming language for a particular task,
 consider the following questions: 

• Is the application’s main task to connect preexisting components? 

• Will the application manipulate a variety of different things?

• Does the application include a GUI? 

• Does the application do a lot of string manipulation? 

• Will the application’s functions evolve rapidly
 over time? 

• Does the application need to be extensible? 

Affirmative answers to these questions suggest that a scripting language will work well for the application. On the other hand, affirmative answers to the
 following questions suggest that an application is better suited to a system programming language: 

• Does the application implement complex algorithms or data structures? 

• Does the application manipulate large datasets,
 for example, all the pixels in an image, such that
 execution speed is critical? 

• Are the application’s functions well defined and
 slow to change?