Python and Bash are two different tools used for different purposes. If you are a system administrator, you proabably come across Perl, Bash, or  other scripting language. You may have even used one or more yourself. Scripting languages are computer programming languages that are often used to do repetitive, tedious tasks at a rate and with an accuracy that even surpass what you could accomplish without them. They are easier to learn and faster to code in than other structured languages such as C and C++. They are a means to accomplish tasks faster. Python is a valuable tool, specifically because it enables you to get your work done efficiently. But the million dollar question arises – is Python better than Bash or any other language?

What is Python?

Python started as a pet project of the Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum in the late 1980s but soon becomes one of the most preferred first languages and popular language used in data science, second only to R. And it’s still growing as one of the most popular programming languages among the community of millions of developers and programmers worldwide. It’s an easy-to-learn, highly efficient programming language used for general-purpose programming. Python is known for its consistency; Start working with Python for a while and you’d be able to understand the features that are new to you. And above all, it is open source meaning anybody can see and modify the source code and it runs smoothly on all viable operating systems.

What is Bash?

Bash is a command language interpreter and UNIX shell and a potential software replacement of the original Bourne shell (sh). The Bash shell provides command-line tools for editing and manipulating users’ command history. Bash is everywhere. It may not be the newest and it’s arguably not the most powerful, nor is it the only shell that is distributed as open source software – but it is ubiquitous. It is a backward-compatible evolutionary successor to the Bourne shell that includes most of the C shell’s major advantages as well as features from the Korn shell and a few additional features of its own. Bash is the default user shell on every Linux distribution you know about as well as macOS. It is both a powerful programming language and a good user interface.

Difference between Python and Bash

1. Basics of Python and Bash

 – Python is easy-to-learn, highly efficient programming language used for general-purpose programming and is based on object-oriented programming. It is one of the fastest-growing programming languages to optimize development speed and automate low-level tasks. It is specifically designed for web and app development. Bash, on the other hand, is not a programming language, but a shell and a command-line interpreter. Bash is the default user shell on every Linux distributions as well as macOS. It’s also available for just about every other UNIX operating system, including BSD Unix and Solaris. Bash is a software replacement for the original Bourne shell (sh).

2. Simplicity in Python and Bash

 – Simplicity is a deciding factor in writing code that is easy to maintain later. Python makes it simple for users to go back over their own code and work on it eve after months. It’s also pretty simple for them to work on code that they haven’t seen before. Python is known for its consistency; Start working with Python for a while and you’d be able to understand the features that are new to you. Shell scripting is simple but is not as powerful as Python because Bash does not deal with frameworks and it’s tough to write a web browser in Bash, especially when it comes to downloading the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript pages and handle user input concurrently.

3. User Interface of Python and Bash

– Python is the clear winner in terms of user interface which makes it one of the popular choices for building local or client-server applications and an ideal choice for interactive applications. Another point in favor of Python’s excellence is its simple support for object-oriented programming (OOP) which allows you to easily and neatly break problems apart and bundle pieces of functionality together into single things. Bash does not support OOP and it only understands text which makes it less intuitive than Python, which in fact is easier and efficient than Bash.

4. Performance of Python verses Bash

 – Python is a more extensive general-purpose programming language with more language features and it’s also one of the easiest languages to learn and teach. There is no language-wide difference between Python and Bash, but Bash is the default user shell on every Linux distribution you know about as well as macOS, which makes it relatively faster than Python in terms of performance. Bash’s command-line editing modes are the features that tend to attract people to it first. This is because it is much easier to go back and fix mistakes or modify previous commands with command-line editing.

Python vs. Bash: Comparison Chart

Summary Python verses Bash

Python is an easy-to-learn, highly efficient programming language used for general-purpose programming and is known for its consistency; Start working with Python for a while and you’d be able to understand the features that are new to you. And it is open source meaning anybody can see and modify the source code and it runs smoothly on all viable operating systems. Bash is also becoming increasingly popular. In addition to its Bourne shell compatibility, it includes the best of the C and Korn shells as well as several features of its own. Bash is the default user shell on every Linux distributions you know about as well as macOS, which makes it relatively faster than Python in terms of performance.

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