Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GNU Bourne Again SHell VS KornShell

Compare GNU Bourne Again SHell VS KornShell and see what are their differences

GNU Bourne Again SHell logo GNU Bourne Again SHell

Bash is the shell, or command language interpreter, that will appear in the GNU operating system.

KornShell logo KornShell

The KornShell language was designed and developed by David G. Korn at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
  • GNU Bourne Again SHell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-14
  • KornShell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-12-21

GNU Bourne Again SHell features and specs

  • Compatibility
    Bash is highly compatible with sh, the original Bourne Shell, making it easy for users familiar with other Unix-like systems to adapt.
  • Scripting Capabilities
    Bash supports a wide range of scripting functionalities, including command substitution, variables, and control structures, making it powerful for complex scripting tasks.
  • Widespread Usage
    Bash is the default shell for many Linux distributions and macOS, ensuring widespread availability and community support.
  • Interactive Use
    Bash offers interactive features such as command line editing, history substitution, and tab completion, enhancing user productivity.
  • Strong Community and Resources
    There is a robust community around Bash, providing a wealth of resources including documentation, tutorials, and forums for support.

Possible disadvantages of GNU Bourne Again SHell

  • Performance Overhead
    When compared to newer shells like Zsh or Fish, Bash can have slower performance due to its older architecture and design.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    Bash lacks some of the advanced features and improvements found in other modern shells, such as better autocomplete functionality and enhanced scripting syntax.
  • Complexity for Beginners
    The robust feature set of Bash can be overwhelming to new users, especially those unfamiliar with command-line interfaces.
  • Error Handling
    Bash scripts can be prone to errors if not carefully handled, as it has limited debugging facilities compared to languages specifically designed for scripting.

KornShell features and specs

  • Compatibility
    KornShell (ksh) maintains backward compatibility with Bourne Shell (sh), making it easy for users familiar with sh to transition without altering their existing scripts substantially.
  • Advanced Scripting Features
    ksh offers advanced scripting capabilities such as associative arrays, floating-point arithmetic, and built-in regular expressions, providing more powerful and flexible scripting tools.
  • Job Control
    It provides robust job control, allowing users to manage and switch between multiple background tasks and processes easily.
  • Interactive Use
    ksh supports features like command aliasing, history manipulation, and inline editing, enhancing its utility in interactive command-line environments.
  • Performance
    ksh scripts often execute faster than those written in other shells like csh, due to more efficient resource management and execution mechanisms.

Possible disadvantages of KornShell

  • Complexity
    ksh is more complex compared to simpler shells like sh, making it potentially overwhelming for beginners or those seeking simplicity.
  • Portability
    Not all systems come with ksh pre-installed, and differences between ksh88 and ksh93 can lead to portability issues across different Unix-like systems.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its rich feature set, ksh has a steeper learning curve, which could be a barrier for new users unfamiliar with shell scripting.
  • Limited Adoption
    Despite its capabilities, ksh is not as widely adopted as other shells like bash or zsh, meaning less community support and fewer resources available.
  • Licensing
    ksh is under the Common Public License, which may pose constraints for users or organizations compared to more permissively licensed shells.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GNU Bourne Again SHell and KornShell)
Cryptocurrencies
69 69%
31% 31
Blockchain
65 65%
35% 35
Developer Tools
70 70%
30% 30
Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, KornShell seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GNU Bourne Again SHell mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of GNU Bourne Again SHell yet. Tracking of GNU Bourne Again SHell recommendations started around Mar 2021.

KornShell mentions (1)

  • Trying to Set-up android9(ver6) in VirtualBox
    Well now I'm at the point that I see it's calling for the Korn shell, which I'm not directly familiar with, and seemed to stop on the mouse input driver. I'll change my VBox mouse device settings and see what happens from there... Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GNU Bourne Again SHell and KornShell, you can also consider the following products

fish shell - The friendly interactive shell.

zsh - The Z shell (Zsh) is a Unix shell that can be used as an interactive login shell and as a powerful command interpreter for shell scripting.

PowerShell Plus - Learn how to learn and master PowerShell fast with an interactive learning center, a powerful IDE, pre-loaded scripts, and a PowerShell Editor… all for free.

Tcl - Already one of the world's best-selling consumer electronics brands, TCL is now the fastest-growing TV brand in North America. TCL TVs feature stylish design and the latest technology.

CentminMod - Centmin Mod is a LEMP stack shell menu based auto installer.

PowerShell Studio - PowerShell Studio is the easiest GUI designer and script generator available.