[madhadron]

> Just because you don't feel comfortable writing long scripts doesn't mean you should discourage others.

And deprive them of the hard learned lessons from decades of experience?

> There are many many justifications for sticking to shell, for example if you need to write a portable installer that works across every UNIX variation.

Do you mean every Linux variation? Because trying to write shell portable from old HP-UX to Darwin is an exercise in insanity.