[8338550bff96]

I would say that HTML is a programming language of the Declarative programming language paradigm.

For SQL you are not instructing the computer what to do, you're describing the rules and structure of the result that you want in some coded language such that an execution engine can determine how to deliver the expected result.

For HTML you're not instructing the renderer what to do, you're describing the rules and structure of the result that you want in some coded language such that the rendering engine can determine how to deliver the expected result.

If I'm wrong, I would be very happy to be corrected because I've argued this for a long time with people who don't know what a programming language paradigm is - so I'd like to know if I'm mistaken.

[threatofrain]

Declarative vs procedural vs functional vs whatever is not the issue here. It's just whether you can translate stuff in one language into another. If I wrote a Python service to encrypt and decrypt your data, can I translate it to Haskell? Or how about using Minecraft mechanics? Why or why not?

Or as another HN person pointed out, the root issue is the author being unhappy that "not" being a programming language conveys negative attitude.

If we're looking for what to call HTML, why not just say markup language? It's a well known industry term.