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The guy you're replying to is probably used to linux where you can interpret a script the same way you run an executable: http://lxr.free-electrons.com/source/fs/binfmt_script.c

You can even add your own executable formats to do stuff like running Java class files by typing `./main.class`: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/binfmt_misc.txt

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Of course, you can run "<interpreter> <file>" anyway and it works, +x or no +x.

You can do, but because Linux has a mechanism for launching the correct interpreter which honours the +x bit it's unusual for anything to do this automatically, whereas on Windows associating interpreters with scripting formats is exactly the same as associating editors with document formats.

Amusingly this was changed with PowerShell in that .ps1 files do not have powershell.exe registered to run them when double-clicked. As a result people complain about it and resort to writing a .bat wrapper around the script.

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