The document compares authoring software and programming languages for developing multimedia applications.
Authoring software is a high-level tool that handles programming code internally without requiring users to understand programming logic or syntax. Programming languages are lower-level tools that provide more control but require understanding of programming.
Authoring software is easier to learn and use but has limited capabilities, while programming languages allow more flexibility but require more time and effort to develop applications. Good multimedia developers should be comfortable using both approaches based on the project requirements.