why not update bash syntax while maintaining backwards compatibility?

[Vlad Vladov]

Hi,
I think bash is great and more people should use it. However, it has a bit
more picky syntax than many other modern languages and shell scripts. For
example assigning a var requires having no spaces between = and var and
assignment. I think this kind of thing can be fixed while still maintaining
backwards compatibility since we would only need to accept space (0 or
more) between tokens. If someone needs to write a script for older systems
they can just follow a stricter syntax, while others can use the benefits
of more lenient syntax. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for your time,
-- 
Vlad