Language-agnostic

{{Short description|Software paradigm independent of language}}

{{For|the language independent approach to translation|Interlingual machine translation}}

Language-agnostic programming or scripting (also called language-neutral, language-independent, or cross-language) is a software paradigm in which no particular language is promoted.

In introductory instruction, the term refers to teaching principles rather than language features.

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For example, a textbook such as Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs is really a language-agnostic book about programming, and is not about programming in Scheme, per se.

As a development methodology, the concept suggests that a particular language should be chosen because of its appropriateness for a particular task (taking into consideration all factors, including ecosystem, developer skill-sets, performance, etc.), and not purely because of the skill-set available within a development team.

For example, a language agnostic Java development team might choose to use Ruby or Perl for some development work, where Ruby or Perl would be more appropriate than Java.

"Cross-Language" in programming and scripting describes a program in which two or more languages are used to good effect within a program's code, with each contributing its distinctive benefits.{{cite web|url=http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2543971|title=The Challenge of Cross-language Interoperability - ACM Queue|website=queue.acm.org}}