Actually, shell/unix pipes bring to the table a bunch of features: a convenient syntax to connect processes, I/O buffering (usually done by the programs themsel

Actually, shell/unix pipes bring to the table a bunch of features: a convenient syntax to connect processes, I/O buffering (usually done by the programs themselves but still), and concurrency. Languages are an (often) unique combination of (often) non-unique features. That's why shell scripting is a thing.