Bash-like scripting has become ubiquitous in operating systems, and it makes me wonder about its widespread adoption despite lacking certain programming conveniences found in other languages. While it may not be the ideal choice for large-scale software development, the bash shell possesses unique features that make it well-suited for interactive command-line processing, including pipelining, text manipulation, and file handling. Why isn’t there an alternative that combines the best of bash’s command-line capabilities with the robustness and scalability of traditional programming languages. Why do even new operating systems, such as Redox OS, opt for a similar syntax rather than a completely different programming language?

Here are some of the limitations I find in Bash compared to other programming languages:

  1. Syntax and Expressiveness:

    • Bash has a relatively simple syntax compared to other programming languages. It lacks some advanced language features such as object-oriented programming, complex data structures, and advanced control flow constructs.
    • The syntax of Bash can be less intuitive and more error-prone, especially for complex tasks or larger projects.

  2. Performance:

    • Bash scripts can be slower compared to compiled languages like C or Java. This is because Bash is an interpreted language, and each line of code is interpreted at runtime.
    • Bash may not be the best choice for computationally intensive tasks or applications that require high performance.

  3. Error Handling and Debugging:

    • Error handling and debugging in Bash can be challenging. Bash does not provide robust error handling mechanisms, and error messages can be cryptic and difficult to interpret.
    • Debugging Bash scripts can be cumbersome, as there is limited tooling and debugging support compared to other programming languages.

  4. Portability:

    • While Bash is available on most Unix-like systems, it may not be available on all platforms or versions. This can limit the portability of Bash scripts.
    • Bash scripts may not work as expected on non-Unix systems or require modifications to run on different platforms.

  5. Limited Standard Library:

    • Bash has a limited standard library compared to other programming languages. It lacks comprehensive libraries for tasks such as networking, database access, or advanced data manipulation.
    • Bash often relies on external tools or utilities to perform complex operations, which can introduce dependencies and compatibility issues.

  6. Lack of Modularity and Reusability:

    • Bash scripts can become monolithic and difficult to maintain as they grow in size. Bash does not provide strong mechanisms for modularization or code reuse.
    • Reusing code or creating libraries in Bash can be challenging, leading to code duplication and decreased maintainability.
  • SpaceCadet@lemmy.world
    78·
    1 year ago

    It seems that you fundamentally misunderstand what bash is supposed to be.

    It is not meant to be a complete general purpose programming language, it’s a scriptable shell that allows you to automate tasks that you would otherwise accomplish interactively using said shell. Its strength is that it leverages the various powerful command line programs that are installed on a typical Linux system (i.e. grep, cut, awk, sed, …), so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and so that any commands you can run interactively in the shell can easily be integrated in a bash script with some basic parameterization and flow logic around it. That’s also why it doesn’t have built-in libraries for everything under the sun, it expects the available system utilities to do much of the heavy lifting. For example, you want json parsing? Use jq. You want to call a webservice? Use curl. You want string handling? Use grep, sed, cut, awk, … You want to manipulate system services? Use systemctl, and so on.

    If you want to use bash as a general purpose programming language, you’re doing it wrong. Look at python if you want a more advanced and self-contained scripting language, and if that doesn’t cut it, use one of the compiled languages.

    Bash scripts can be slower compared to compiled languages like C or Java. This is because Bash is an interpreted language, and each line of code is interpreted at runtime

    No, bash scripts are sometimes slow because it forks a lot of processes. For example, if you have a tight loop that you iterate through 10,000 times and there’s a grep inside the loop, it will fork grep 10,000 times.