AutoIt is terrible.
While I agree with this, I generally use it for basic Windows scripting. I much prefer using it over VB. And it
does in fact have advantages over other scripting languages. Note: scripting. The scope of his question is in this category.
And PrincessFluttershy, for my sanity and yours I hope by "real programming language" you aren't referring to Visual Basic.
Sinza_: I'm going to try to keep my answer as brief and not too overly technical as possible, so I'm going to paraphrase. This is my answer in regard to a similar question I've answered a while back:
Glad to know that you're learning AutoIt. It's one of my favorite Windows scripting languages due to the fact that programs are written relatively quick in it and its structure and linguistics are pretty easy to catch on to. It's also standalone so requires no dependencies and generally runs completely independently. Furthermore it also has very comprehensive documentation and a vast amount of resources available- moreover an extensive standard library accompanied by an archive of UDFs (User-Defined Functions).
However, AutoIt has subtle differences and little significant advantages in contrast to something like .NET. (However it does have some benefits.)
1. There is no standard wrapper for HTTP/HTTPS, similarly to a lot of other languages. But they can be made in several different ways. Initializing COM objects in AutoIt is fairly easy, as such writing a wrapper for WinHTTP shouldn't be too difficult. Actually, if you're really interested in AutoIt perhaps I could possibly make one and give you a few pointers. (Possibly occasional help.)
2. AutoIt by default is not multi-threaded. Though there are means of "emulating" it via the usage of third-party libraries. Timers are available. But keep in mind that mostly everything in AutoIt is dynamic so it won't be anything like VB/C# whereas you simply drag-and-drop a control or component on a form.
3. AutoIt comes with a standard form distribution known as Koda. When you create a project in AutoIt and edit it, it should be located somewhere in the Tools menu options. However it could take some time for you to get accustomed to the language before you're able to use it efficiently.
To summarize:
-Applescript is a programming language restricted to the Mac/OS X platform. AutoIt by default is Windows. Although AutoIt could be emulated across different platforms using compatibility layers like
Darwine, which is a Mac port of the popular software Wine.
-AutoIt was originally designed for the automation of repetitive tasks. Meaning it's ideal for a wide range of tasks that have to do with the management of tedious tasks. Of course it isn't limited to that particular purpose.
As such, AutoIt is a good language to learn for the scripting of the Microsoft Windows operating system. That's pretty much what I mainly use it for. Otherwise, I use programming languages more apt for the task at hand. (This includes but isn't limited to: Delphi/Object Pascal, Lua, AHK, and Python.)