I don't think I understand the question. You think iteration, conditionals, addition are not needed in shell scripts? It would be a very unusual position indee

I don't think I understand the question. You think iteration, conditionals, addition are not needed in shell scripts? It would be a very unusual position indeed. Or could it be that you are not familiar with the expression "business case"? (Sorry if this is off base! but the word "mercenary"in your post also kind of points this way). "Business case" has very little to do with business as commercial enterprise...