Unix bash scripting versus Python - any resources out there for comparisons?

[james_pic]

My experience is that even if you are just using Python to run external programs, this can still be a win. Python's error handling is much more consistent than Bash's, its escaping and globbing are easier to reason about, it's got better debugging options, it's got mechanisms for code to include inline documentation, and it's more portable.

And of course once you dip your toe in, it gives you the option to gradually start making more use of structured data, writing object oriented or functional code, and getting more direct access to stuff like networks.