...shell scripts can do a lot of heavy lifting before you need to start writing one-off python scripts.
I've written loads of both, and I realize the thread had already started down this path, but how is a shell script really different from a python script? If you're targeting Bourne, your shell isn't a separate installation, but it isn't onerous to install your favorite python version on machines you control. Sure, python has an ecosystem of libraries that shell doesn't have, but you don't have to use those libraries if you don't want to. What terrible consequences does someone who prefers python to shell scripting face?
> What terrible consequences does someone who prefers python to shell scripting face?
Terrible consequences? Probably not. Shell script dependencies are easier to handle, because the commands you're relying on are built right into the OS. They're going to be there because they have to be. How often does sed, grep, awk, and cut change?
It's a matter of complexity. If you're munging files and using regexps, shell is fine, and quicker than Python. If you're starting to think "I need a set" or "I need real error handling", it's about the time I move to Python or Perl.
I've written loads of both, and I realize the thread had already started down this path, but how is a shell script really different from a python script? If you're targeting Bourne, your shell isn't a separate installation, but it isn't onerous to install your favorite python version on machines you control. Sure, python has an ecosystem of libraries that shell doesn't have, but you don't have to use those libraries if you don't want to. What terrible consequences does someone who prefers python to shell scripting face?