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Unix shell is another good example. It’s a bad programming language, which is not surprising because it didn’t start out as a language. Yet people use it as o
by chubot 6y ago
Unix shell is another good example. It’s a bad programming language, which is not surprising because it didn’t start out as a language.
Yet people use it as one and write tens of thousands of lines of code in it. See https://github.com/oilshell/oil/wiki/The-Biggest-Shell-Programs-in-the-World https://github.com/oilshell/oil/wiki/The-Biggest-Shell-Progr... and https://oilshell.org https://oilshell.org
- Wowfunhappy 6y agoUnix shell also has a natural learning ramp. You start out just using the the shell to do standard computer tasks: install software, manage files, etc. Then, one day, you're trying to do some sort of repetitive task, and you use a for loop. Or you realize it would be nice if cron could run a command for you at a set time. Then, some time later, you realize it would be useful if cron could execute five commands in sequence, or decide that your for loop is complicated enough that you'd like to write it out on multiple lines. And just like that, you've started developing shell scripts.