why?
Because bash feels clunky to write and work with for anything non-trivial, especially compared to other scripting languages.
Why not another scripting language (no compile necessary)?
Because bash and sh are installed nearly everywhere. Any other scripting language means the user is required to have that installed, and that is far less likely to be the case.
If I could write my scripts in a nice syntax, but be sure my users will be able to use it effortlessly by distributing to them compiled versions, then that would make both of our lives easier!
Thoughts? Are there any languges that do this?
It’s perfectly acceptable to not want to use a certain tool.
You would be the kind of person on SO to reply to a question saying “how do I do A” with “nobody does A, do B instead”. That’s not constructive.
It absolutely can be constructive. The reason people respond that way on SO is because it is genuinely common for people to think they need something because they’ve misinterpreted the core problem they have.