1989 founded Standing
languages · gnu.org/software/bash
Bash
the moat is real
37 years 73 days and counting
Brian Fox, 1989, GNU. Still the glue.
Why it lasted
- It is the default shell on a billion machines even when it is not your login shell.
- Every install script is a bash script pretending to be portable.
Times it almost ended
- zsh became the macOS default. Bash stayed the script. That split saved it.
- Fish and oil and nushell. Lovely. CI still says #!/usr/bin/env bash.
What would finish it
- A POSIX shell that is default everywhere and is not bash. Dash got close in Debian. Scripts still say bash.
Questions
Is Bash still up?
Yes, with a Standing verdict: the moat is real. Founded 1989.
How long has Bash been around?
Bash has been up since 1989-06-08.
Why did Bash survive?
It is the default shell on a billion machines even when it is not your login shell.
Could Bash still die?
A POSIX shell that is default everywhere and is not bash. Dash got close in Debian. Scripts still say bash.