Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

KornShell VS the xonsh shell

Compare KornShell VS the xonsh shell and see what are their differences

KornShell logo KornShell

The KornShell language was designed and developed by David G. Korn at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

the xonsh shell logo the xonsh shell

Xonsh is a Python-powered, cross-platform, Unix-gazing shell language and command prompt.
  • KornShell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-12-21
  • the xonsh shell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-07

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.

the xonsh shell features and specs

  • Python Integration
    Xonsh allows the use of Python throughout the shell session, enabling powerful scripting, access to Python libraries, and seamless integration with Python code.
  • Extensible
    Due to its foundation in Python, xonsh is highly extensible and customizable, allowing users to create plugins or modify the shell's behavior to suit their needs.
  • Unified Environment
    Xonsh provides a unified environment for both command-line operations and Python scripting, reducing the need to switch contexts and improving workflow efficiency.
  • Cross-Platform
    Xonsh runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent shell experience across different platforms.
  • Rich Features
    Xonsh offers features like syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and history search, which enhance productivity and make the shell more user-friendly.

Possible disadvantages of the xonsh shell

  • Learning Curve
    Users unfamiliar with Python or new to xonsh may face a steeper learning curve, especially when transitioning from other shell environments.
  • Performance Overhead
    Being implemented in Python, xonsh might experience performance overhead, particularly when dealing with large and complex shell scripts compared to traditional shells like Bash.
  • Community and Support
    While growing, xonsh's community is smaller than those of more established shells, which might affect the availability of community support and third-party resources.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Scripts or features heavily reliant on legacy shell-specific behavior may face compatibility issues, requiring adjustments when running in xonsh.
  • Limited Adoption
    As a relatively new shell, xonsh may have limited adoption in enterprise environments, potentially impacting its integration into existing systems or workflows.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to KornShell and the xonsh shell)
Blockchain
31 31%
69% 69
Cryptocurrencies
26 26%
74% 74
Development
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
27 27%
73% 73

User comments

Share your experience with using KornShell and the xonsh shell. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, the xonsh shell seems to be a lot more popular than KornShell. While we know about 78 links to the xonsh shell, we've tracked only 1 mention of KornShell. 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.

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

the xonsh shell mentions (78)

  • Advanced Shell Scripting with Bash (2006) [pdf]
    (Not sure about the equivalent of shlex.quote, but in the worst case, you can just use "from shlex import quote as q" or something). So yes, there are good alternatives to bash - even Python based. [0] https://xon.sh/. - Source: Hacker News / 15 days ago
  • Advanced Shell Scripting with Bash (2006) [pdf]
    > Wondering what others have found to address this. Or if they just stuck with Bash, since it's just not going away anytime soon. If you're familiar with Python, give xonsh (https://xon.sh/) a go. It's a Bash-like shell but the syntax is Python. It has the same ease of writing shell scripts as Bash does, sans the insane language. Been using it since 2018. - Source: Hacker News / 15 days ago
  • Fish 4.0: The Fish of Theseus
    Also, do consider xonsh.[1] It's a Bash-like shell written in Python. It has significant overlap with the awesomeness of fish, and has the advantage of being able to write your shell scripts in a Python dialect. So if you know Python, the mental burden is much lower. On top of that, it's cross platform, since Python is. No WSL needed. I switched to it in 2018 and haven't looked back. Originally it was just because... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • A Second Search for Bash Scripting Alternatives
    No xonsh? (https://xon.sh/) Seems to hit most of the requirements. Been happily using it since 2018. It's great not to have to learn a whole other language just to do scripting. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • The Dune Shell
    Interesting thought experiment. Reminds me of my cousin's project Xonsh https://xon.sh/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing KornShell and the xonsh shell, you can also consider the following products

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

fish shell - The friendly interactive shell.

Nu Shell - A modern shell written in Rust

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.

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.

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.