What scripting language should a non-developer learn for everyday application tasks?

Question

Programming languages

Please suggest which direction to look.

By everyday applied tasks, I mean, first of all, operations on files, working with text, displaying some kind of selection for later use in a text editor or an Excel spreadsheet.
For example:
- mass renaming of files according to tricky conditions for attributes and content, with a preliminary check of the intended result by displaying the text.
- text processing is not at the level of autocorrect and a recorded sequence of actions, but at the level of variables, cycles and conditions.
Further, the Wishlist grows - parsing office documents, mail, processing json / xml / html as documents, http requests, launching CLI applications with output returning, reading system parameters, etc.

In fact, I already have a tool for all this - RPA studio, at work I create scripts for robotization (yes, RPA is not only about OCR and clicks in applications).
The problem is: to solve a small one-time task, I most likely will not launch the studio, wait until it loads and checks licenses, create a project, pull dependencies - I will most likely do it manually (although my "manual" is far from the same as "manually" stereotyped accountant). Yes, and I want text-mode, over time, using the mouse is more and more annoying (however, like multi-level key combinations). And this studio is not at home.
But if you could quickly open the editor, sketch out the script and execute it - a completely different matter.

As a reference for the use case, I present the familiar SQL query writing:
1. Wrote the query
2. The result was analyzed / copied to the editor / exported
3. If necessary, the data was changed (as an analogy of renaming / moving files, changing the text)
4. Query closed and forgot / saved in a file for the future / created a procedure based on the request as a reproducible component of a more complex scenario

. basic conditions:
1. Instant launch of the writing environment. And even better if it's an editor that doesn't close for me all day anyway.
2. No need to pre-build the project
3. No need to compile the finished script
4. Output to a certain area of ​​the result, convenient for copying and further editing

Additional conditions:
1. Windows Server 2012R2
2. Correct work with Cyrillic in different encodings.
3. Never in my life will I approve the purchase of a license, therefore - the "honest" free solution for organizations.

I am not a developer, with the exception of term papers written at night with beer and immediately forgotten, I have not written a single program in my life, and I do not want to.
But I am quite comfortable using MSSQL, RegEx, VB.NET inserts in my robotic scripts.

Yes, you need to learn how to use the desired solution, I'm ready.

Obvious assumptions and their "buts":
1. PowerShell
Beyond the needs can give more tools to interact with the system for rarer tasks.
If you can put new versions with .NET on an old server, then it's great.
"But": parsing and processing output in the console is inconvenient, some modules require domain permissions.
2. VBA
In addition to the needs, it provides means of "native" editing of office documents, which is also useful.
"But": open excel to open macro editor, store macros in some book...
3. VSCode/Geany/Kate/Vim with interpreter plugins for something like Python/LUA/JS
4. Emacs + elisp
Cool same!
"But": Windows? Cyrillic? Encodings?
5. AutoIt, AutoHotKey
?
*. Violent fantasy suggests writing a JS / PHP script in the Chrome developer panel with returning output to the page

Answer 1

Definitely Python.

Answer 2

In principle, autohotkey is better. It was just created to automate routine tasks. It can even make small windowed applications and compile to executable files. + quite a lot of learning materials, and the language is easy to learn.

Answer 3

Here the question is some kind of mess of languages, editors and utilities.
If you are interested in PL for the specified tasks, then Python or Ruby, but since Windows, then only Python.

Answer 4

Можете попробовать Eonza. Разрабатывается как раз примерно для ваших целей. Другое дело, что пока не покрывает всех ваших потребностей.

Answer 5

Ну тут питон однозначно. Для сложных вещей можно попробовать ещё F#
Хз как в питоне с кодировками, но в дотнете можно читать файлы в нужной кодировке и сразу перегонять в utf
Редактор - вс код

Answer 6

Если знаете JS, то Microsoft JScript. Графический интерфейс — HTA.