If you're looking at your smartphone or tablet and wanting to script it, put it down and find yourself a desktop or laptop.
Edit: Smartphones and tablets are simply not general purpose computers. I don't want a desktop type OS on either my phone or tablet. I certainly don't want a tablet OS on my desktop. That defeats the purpose. Smartphones and tablets are good at certain things the require _direct user input_. If you really want a smartphone/tablet with desktop capabilities there are vendors that sell that stuff. I just can't see a need for it.
Android smartphones and tablets can most definitely serve as general purpose computers (for developers on the go at least). My daily-driver is loaded up with the latest bash, python2, python3, gcc, openssl, ssh, busybox, etc. I'd never carry around a laptop, but with a phone it is always on me so I can get right to work anytime I have a few spare minutes. Just pull up a terminal and ssh into a development box or work locally. Its as easy as can be... You can even run a full Debian image or distro like XFCE in the background if need be. I usually just ssh in, but you can also connect over VNC for desktop use (this is generally best on a tablet). It works really well for me anyways.
Because its just not practical (or desirable) to carry around a laptop everywhere I go whereas my phone is always charged and on me. Nor do I always have a reliable network connection.
"If you're looking at your smartphone or tablet and wanting to [use] it, put it down and find yourself a desktop or laptop."
What you're missing is, for many of us, scripting is fundamentally how we interact with computing devices in a convenient way. I don't know if I want "a desktop type OS" on my phone or tablet, but I definitely (!!!) want an OS that allows me to easily and flexibly compose disparate pieces of functionality across contexts.
Edit: Smartphones and tablets are simply not general purpose computers. I don't want a desktop type OS on either my phone or tablet. I certainly don't want a tablet OS on my desktop. That defeats the purpose. Smartphones and tablets are good at certain things the require _direct user input_. If you really want a smartphone/tablet with desktop capabilities there are vendors that sell that stuff. I just can't see a need for it.