I tried to learn shell(bash) scripting few times but was driven away by the syntax. Then I found Python and was able to do most of the things a shell script can do in Python. I am now not sure whether I should invest my time in learning shell scripting anymore. So I want to ask:
What are strengths of shell scripting that make it an indispensable tool as compared to Python?
I am not a system administration by profession, but I am interested in setting up Linux systems for home users, hence I think learning shell scripting can become necessary.
The shell is available everywhere. If you stick to a relatively basic set of portable functionality, your scripts can run on cell phones, wireless routers, DVRs, netbooks, workstations, big iron servers, and the like. Python is not necessarily included out of the box on lots of systems, and depending on the environment it may be hard to get it installed.
Learning some shell scripting can also help you learn some command line tricks, since the command line is, well, the shell. It's also good for taking some fairly long and complicated command line, and converting that into a more general script after you realize you'll need it some more.
The shell also has some pretty powerful features; pipelines are a really interesting control construct that is native only to the shell, as far as I know.
Strengths of Shell Scripting compared to Python