Hello everyone, I think I happen to have some experiences to share:
1. Five years ago, I developed my own version of zx/dax version using TypeScript. I call this project TypeShell.
2. In the past three years, I have written x-cmd, implemented by posix shell.
Please visit x-cmd at https://x-cmd.com. It is now close to the public beta version. It is still under construction, and the demo can tell some stories.
It tries to enhance posix shell in various ways. Its installation tar.gz package is only 1.02MB (which can be optimized). Even with sh/awk/curl, it can do a lot of things. These features are called modules.
And, through the self-contained pkg manager (do not require priviledge to install), x-cmd can gain capabilities from existing binaries and other script projects, becoming increasingly powerful.
---
The main reason I gave up TypeShell project was that the startup time became a problem. At that time, node 8 was mainstream, and node 10 had just become LTS. I remember that even using node 10, the startup time was poor compared to python/perl.
In addition to startup performance, size matters. I work on different servers and must carry a 20MB node/typescript zip package to run js script. This was acceptable to me, but I couldn't help thinking, what if the solution was only 5mb. Then I tried to rewrite it in golang, and got a version with a smaller startup time and size. Unfortunately, as I understood bash more deeply, I found that basic functions could be easily accomplished through bash and curl. When I was halfway through, I realized that bash was not available in some places. I challenge to rewrite it with posix shell and awk. After years of effort, x-cmd is almost ready now.
---
Friends, I'm not saying that tools like zx are not good. I do like to write some scripts using js/ts. I believe pythoners prefer https://xon.sh/ . Perl is interesting. Fish is friendly.
However, I believe posix-shell has its own advantages. The balance among size, code length, and expressiveness. I think the only possible competitors are tcl and perl, maybe lua.
But none of the above is included by default in all
server/container environments.
---
I wouldn't advise using posix-shell due to its numerous potential issues. I think people should write scripts using the language and library they are familiar with, and do it for fun.
Friends of js/ts use zx/bun-sh/..., pythoners use xon.sh, etc.
Engineers can use x-cmd like `x <your-script>.[py|mjs|lua|...]`. Then x-cmd will automatically help you download the script runtime, scripts, and install dependencies before running.
This is the future I have always wanted to achieve.