A Scheme Shell

# 13 Conclusion

Scsh is a system with several faces. From one perspective, it is not much more than a system-call library and a few macros. Yet, there is power in this minimalist description -- it points up the utility of embedding systems in languages such as Scheme. Scheme is at core what makes scsh a successful design. Which leads us to three final thoughts on the subject of scsh and systems programming in Unix:

- A Scheme shell wins because it is broad-spectrum.

- A functional language is an excellent tool for systems programming.

- Hacking Unix isn't so bad, actually, if you don't have to use C.