Shell Programming and Scripting

Python
Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming 
language, comparable to Perl, Tcl, Scheme, or Java.

Some of Python's notable features:

Python uses an elegant syntax for readable programs. 

Python is an agile language that makes it easy to get your 
program working. This makes Python an ideal language for 
prototype development and other ad-hoc programming tasks, 
without compromising maintainability. 

A variety of basic data types are available: numbers (integers, 
floating point, complex, and unlimited-length long integers), 
strings (both ASCII and Unicode), lists, dictionaries. 
Python supports object-oriented programming with classes and 
multiple inheritance. 

Code can be grouped into modules and packages. 

The language supports raising and catching exceptions, resulting 
in cleaner error handling. 

Data types are strongly but dynamically typed. Mixing 
incompatible types (e.g. attempting to add a string and a 
number) causes an exception to be raised. 

Python contains advanced programming features such as 
generators and list comprehensions. 

Automatic garbage collection frees you from the hassles of 
memory management. 

The large standard library supports many common programming 
tasks such as connecting to web servers, regular expressions, 
and file handling. 

Python's interactive mode makes it easy to test short snippets of 
code. There's also a bundled development environment called 
IDLE. 

The Python interpreter is easily extended by adding new modules 
implemented in a compiled language such as C or C++. 
The interpreter can also be embedded into an application to 
provide a programmable interface. 

Python runs on many different computers and operating systems: 
Windows, MacOS, many brands of Unix, OS/2, ... 

Python is copyrighted but placed under an open source license, 
meaning that Python can be freely used and distributed, even for 
commercial purposes. 

PHP
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is
especially suited for Web development and can be embedded 
into HTML.

Perl - Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister 
Perl is a high-level programming language with an eclectic 
heritage written by Larry Wall and a cast of thousands. It derives 
from the ubiquitous C programming language and to a lesser 
extent from sed, awk, the Unix shell, and at least a dozen other 
tools and languages. Perl's process, file, and text manipulation 
facilities make it particularly well-suited for tasks involving quick 
prototyping, system utilities, software tools, system management 
tasks, database access, graphical programming, networking, and 
world wide Web Development. These strengths make it especially 
popular with system administrators and CGI script authors, but 
mathematicians, geneticists, journalists, and even managers also 
use Perl. Maybe you should, too.