Advantages of using jython vs. jacl in wsadmin scripting (WebSphere Application Server 7+)

Question

Facing the programming for the wsadmin scripting client I see that you can use both jacl and jython.

I've the same level of confidence with both two languages.

I'm wondering if, in the specific of wsadmin programming , there are advantages of using one language over the other; such as robustness, availability of examples or libraries for websphere administration, or something like that arisen from your experience in the use and building of this kind of scripts.

Answer 1

Jython is the language to prefer:

• Rational Application Developer has tooling support for Jyton (Jython editor, debugger, command completition, and ability to test your scripts against your test server inside IDE).
• WebSphere administrative console provides console command assistance; it gives you scripting equivalents of the operations you perform using administrative console in case you want to automate them. This assistance uses Jython as language.
• Even if Jacl had been the default language for wsadmin, IBM promotes Jython for future, and even provided a tool to convert Jacl scripts to Jython. Quoting from description of this tool at given link;

When selecting a scripting language, Jython is the strategic direction as the administration scripting language for WebSphere Application Server because future enhancements of the scripting language is focused on the use of Jython.