Easy Question

What's the difference between making a note sticatto and short?

Staccato is taught to beginners to play as if the keys are on fire (the first note, G, in K. 330, Mozart's Sonata No. 10 in C Mvmt. 1 is staccatoed).

Playing the note short doesn't mean anything because long and short is relevant to the piece itself, the speed, and other articulations already in effect and isn't a general, all-encompassing term.

One thing that most musicians misunderstand about staccatos is how long they're actually held. Most musicians think that a staccatoed note is one that is played "fast" or "tapped", when in fact staccatoed notes have a much more specific definition. A staccato sign over a note means to hold that note for half of its given length. So a staccato half note would be played as a quarter note followed by a quarter rest. Mezzo-staccato and staccatisimo also exist. Mezzo-staccato is represented by a tenudo mark over a staccato mark and means that the given note is played for 3/4 of its notated value. Staccatisimo (although rarely seen) is shown by a somewhat tear drop shaped staccato mark over a note; this means to play the note at 1/4 of its notated value.

and to add to all this, the interpretation of staccato notes is part of the overall performance of a particular work or of a period of music, or even of a particular performer's approach to that work or period of music.

One pianist's staccato notes in a Mozart piece might not be approached the same way as in a Prokoviev. And another performer might again attack the notes differently from the first pianist.

General guidelines exist (as perfectly explained in the above posts).

Then comes craft as a performer (experience).

And finally there's the individual's taste.