In today's IT world, and as we enter the next century, there are three basic ways that software is written. Very rapid to develop and usually easy to understand. Limitations are reached quickly and cannot be overcome without system or scripting languages. Complexity leads to long development times, long debugging times, and shortage of the types of people who can handle and enjoy this type of work.
Results are often inflexible.
Simpler to learn and faster to develop than system languages, but not as fast as the pure static tools. Best used to customize and connect the elements from the static and the system languages. Scripting is the glue that brings it all together. These are complementary languages, working best when used together. It is the third, scripting, component which has rapidly become the most important piece because the companies that best exploit scripting, and the simplicity and power it provides, are those that will create robust solutions faster.