Gratitude Day 19: UNIX Shell

Disclaimer: This post was indirectly inspired by a similar (and very enjoyable) post by the amazing Stefano, but it was germinating in my brain long before I realized the thematic similarities. I've been programming in UNIX shell (mainly ksh, then bash, and now a bit more POSIX shell) for about a quarter century, now. It's really my favorite environment. First, let's get some common objections out the way. No serious programmer writes in shell! They use Python, I mean C, I mean assembly, I mean a magnetized needle and a steady hand, I mean C-x M-c M-butterfly Yeah, you're probably right. Next? Who needs bash/POSIX shell? My shell has pretty colors, a 3D interactive prompt and status line, full git integration, an app store, and takes full advantage of my GPU-accelerated terminal that runs on my 1024-core gaming computer with its own micro-fusion reactor! I'm happy for you. Genuinely. 😄 I've been using Unix-based OSes (first various Linux distros, then OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and now NetBSD…