Bourne Shell is the most appropriate scripting language (was Re: [tlug] What is the most appropriate scripting language)

[Jim <jep200404@example.com>]

Dave M G wrote:

> If I were working on that *other* operating system, 
> I would accomplish the following task with a .bat file.

Unix/Linux shell scripts (.sh) correspond to .bat files. 

> However, on Linux, I'm not sure which scripting language I should be 
> using. It seems there are so many, and I'm not sure what the difference is.

Indeed, there are many scripting languages. They all work. 
Because your task is easy, a plain old shell script is the best 
choice because it will be the most portable and the most widely 
understood by others. This means that there will be plenty of 
help if you need it, as others have already volunteered. 

Even amongst shell scripts, there are many choices, Bourne shell, 
born again shell, C shell, The C shell, Z shell, ...
Portability is a good thing, so write according to the Bourne shell. 
It's the most standard. Run your script with the Bourne Again shell (bash). 

Everything you want to do is easy in plain old shell scripts. 
There's nothing wierd about what you want to do, 
and there's nothing that strains plain old shell scripts. 

The reference for bash, http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/abs-guide.pdf, 
might be overwhelming. If so, play with simpler tutorials. 

   http://www.google.com/search?q=bash+tutorial

That, and the examples that people have already shown, 
should get you most of the way.