New parser vs. old parser

The old parser was in fact macro parser. Only strings beginning with @ were recognized, locally parsed and expanded.

@LineEdit1.setText(@ListBox.selection)

All the underlying functionality (local variables, expressions, file manipulation) had to be done in another scripting langage, such as Bash. While the intent with Kommander is to support all other scripting languages, and this is presently possible to some degree, there was a need for a fast, native scripting language that was assured to be portable. The developers considered bash slow and not friendly to new users, and the old parser had been initially bash calling DCOP. The paradox for Kommander being language neutral resulted in a need to do more than just functions natively.