So true. I think most of us who learned "advanced" bash is after being tired of feeling like an idiot looking at long bash scripts.

Usually, those scripts are written by people who didn't learn the "weird tricks", and use global variables (they didn't learn that `local` creates local variables), for example.

In bash, many times the "dumb way" takes 10 times more lines, and it's probably buggier than the "smart tricky way". So, in the end it's your choice what side you pick, and when to stop. Or, use a "real programming language" (I hate when people say this LOL)

After a while, you get a bit of stockholm syndrome, and you're just fine with bash as an orchestration language, and lean into unix principles. I accept its limitations, and I think it keeps me on my toes as it repels bloat.

idk if you were expecting an answer, but bash lives in this liminal space in the tower of languages that is worth a thought.