Python CAN be a "shell script" in this case though...
Tool composition over stdio will get you very very far. That's what an interface "from the 80s" does for you 45 years later. That same stdio composability is easily pipe into/through any number of cli tools written in any number of languages, compiled and interpreted.
Composing via stdio is so bloody terrible. Layers and layers of bullshit string parsing and encoding and decoding. Soooo many bugs. And utterly undebuggable. A truly miserable experience.
Tool composition over stdio will get you very very far. That's what an interface "from the 80s" does for you 45 years later. That same stdio composability is easily pipe into/through any number of cli tools written in any number of languages, compiled and interpreted.