GNU Bash vs Groovy

Overview

Groovy

Stacks7.0K

Followers780

Votes212

GitHub Stars5.4K

Forks1.9K

GNU Bash

Stacks1.4K

Followers723

Votes8

GNU Bash vs Groovy: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will compare the key differences between GNU Bash and Groovy. Both GNU Bash and Groovy are programming languages commonly used for scripting and automation tasks. However, they have distinct features and purposes that set them apart.

1. Syntax and Execution Environment:

GNU Bash is a shell scripting language primarily used for executing commands in the Unix/Linux terminal. It follows a command-line interface syntax and is suitable for automating system administration tasks. On the other hand, Groovy is a dynamic and object-oriented language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It has a Java-like syntax and is often used for writing general-purpose applications.

2. Language Features and Capabilities:

GNU Bash is a simple and lightweight language that focuses on executing system commands and manipulating text. It provides extensive support for handling environment variables, pipes, and file redirection. In contrast, Groovy is a more powerful language with features such as classes, objects, inheritance, and polymorphism. It also supports concurrency, closures, and higher-order functions.

3. Platform Compatibility and Integration:

GNU Bash is native to Unix/Linux systems and is available by default on most distributions. It integrates well with the underlying system utilities and tools. Groovy, being a JVM language, can run on any platform that supports Java. It can seamlessly integrate with existing Java libraries and frameworks, allowing developers to benefit from the vast Java ecosystem.

4. Development Paradigm:

GNU Bash follows a procedural programming paradigm and is mainly used for scripting and automation tasks. It is designed to be concise and efficient for system administration tasks. Groovy, on the other hand, is a general-purpose language that supports multiple paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming. It provides more flexibility in software development and allows for code reuse.

5. Community and Support:

GNU Bash has a large and active community due to its long-standing presence in the Unix/Linux ecosystem. It has extensive documentation and a wide range of online resources available for learning and troubleshooting. Groovy also has a growing community, but it is relatively smaller compared to Bash. However, Groovy benefits from the overall Java community, which provides a wealth of resources and support.

6. Performance:

GNU Bash excels in tasks that involve system commands and text manipulation, as it is optimized for these operations. It performs well for quick scripting tasks and one-liners. Groovy, being a JVM language, compiles to bytecode and runs on a virtual machine. It offers robust performance and can handle more complex applications efficiently.

In summary, while GNU Bash is a specialized language for shell scripting and system administration tasks, Groovy is a more versatile and feature-rich language suitable for general-purpose development. The choice between them depends on the specific use case and requirements of the project.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs

CLI (Node.js)

Manual

Advice on Groovy, GNU Bash

Justin

Open Source Program Manager at Reblaze

Aug 15, 2019

Review

If you have a file (demo.txt) that has 3 columns:

Column-1    Column-2    Column-3
Row-1a      Row-2a      Row-3a         
Row-1b      Row-2b      Row-3b
Row-1c      Row-2c      Row-3c
Row-1d      Row-2d      Row-3d
Row-1e      Row-2e      Row-3e

and you want to only view the first column of the file in your CLI, run the following:

awk {'print $1'} demo.txt

Column-1
Row-1a
Row-1b
Row-1c
Row-1d
Row-1e

If you want to print the second column of demo.txt, just replace $1 with $2

96.4k views96.4k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Groovy	GNU Bash
It is a powerful multi-faceted programming language for the JVM platform. It supports a spectrum of programming styles incorporating features from dynamic languages such as optional and duck typing, but also static compilation and static type checking at levels similar to or greater than Java through its extensible static type checker. It aims to greatly increase developer productivity with many powerful features but also a concise, familiar and easy to learn syntax.	The Bourne Again SHell is an sh-compatible shell that incorporates useful features from the Korn shell (ksh) and C shell (csh). It is intended to conform to the IEEE POSIX P1003.2/ISO 9945.2 Shell and Tools standard.
Flat learning curve; Powerful features; Smooth Java integration; Domain-Specific Languages; Vibrant and rich ecosystem; Scripting and testing glue	Command line editing; Unlimited size command history; Job Control; Shell Functions and Aliases; Indexed arrays of unlimited size; Integer arithmetic in any base from two to sixty-four
Statistics
GitHub Stars 5.4K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 1.9K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 7.0K	Stacks 1.4K
Followers 780	Followers 723
Votes 212	Votes 8
Pros & Cons
Pros 44 Java platform 33 Much more productive than java 29 Concise and readable 28 Very little code needed for complex tasks 22 Dynamic language Cons 3 Groovy Code can be slower than Java Code 1 Absurd syntax 1 Objects cause stateful/heap mess	Pros 3 Powerful scripting language 3 Customizable 2 Widely adopted 0 Cross platform Cons 1 Too Slow
Integrations
Java	Codecov

What are some alternatives to Groovy, GNU Bash?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

Related Comparisons