I see the advantages of both terminal and GUI for Linux and Windows. It depends on the application.
For me, anything that requires using a long path name is better with a GUI than a terminal.
“You Don’t Need Terminal Knowledge to Use Linux
Finally, there is a misconception that Linux users must know terminal commands to use the system. That may have been true many years ago, but modern Linux distributions have moved far beyond that limitation. Millions of Linux users install software through app stores, manage devices through setting panels, update systems automatically, and mount drives with file managers — all without learning a single command. You do not need the terminal unless their problem goes beyond what the graphical environment can handle.”
For that statement alone I thank you very very much for this article Ace!!! That Myth needs to be dispelled so more can go give it a shot!
And apologies for bringing up something totally unrelated to your great threads.
I used a Linux terminal until I retired. Our mainframe was Redhat. I wrote scripts in a Windows editor and pasted it into vi. Same with crons.
You got to auk it like it's hot!
I’m been writing software since ‘83, as a young teenager. I first used Linux in the mid-90’s.
It’s come a long way. It’s only logical to want a nice GUI, nothing wrong with that. Most users would be fine with it today.
That said, the Linux command line is a powerful environment if you know how to use it.
I just installed linux mint a couple months ago...What is a terminal command? J/K...but seriously I never use it for my needs. I just wanted to get away from msoft and google.
Pretty clear the author has never used grep to parse large log files.
I use Linux. It is on two of my PCs. But, it is not user friendly. It is capable of everything M$oft — but, not easily.
Linus proponents are like the Libertarian party. Disconnected from reality and almost as bad as AppleSoyBoys.
I would guess maybe .5% of all computer users would need to or want to ever use the terminal. People want to turn on the computer, check email, play music, watch YouTube, and browse.
I know how because I grew up with computers and started my first engineering job with HPUnix and we had no choice. But now that I can just boot up to a GUI and click I don’t miss it a bit and in the past 5 years I have probably used the terminal once.
It's a Straw Man argument. Show me the links (plural) or it's an OBVIOUS LIE. Even Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman won't make that argument.
You should blacklist this website in your uBlock Origin (which you obviously are using if you're astute enough to be running *NIX).
Nonetheless *NIX is several times more utilitarian if you can CLI, even if only a little. I've got dozens of scripts written for small tasks I only need once in a while and for which I couldn't be bothered to create a GUI.
I started playing with computers back in the mid-seventies - Altair 8800 that I had to assemble. Got it running. Front-panel switches to load hand-assembled code, one byte at a time. If you missed even one bit you got the dreaded “stack runaway”, 100% fatal. Start over.
Next was MSDOS at home. Work machine was a VAX cluster with VMS until we couldn’t get parts for it. I still miss that old beast.
Work went to Windows - hated it. I was a command-line warrior by that point and windows just got in my way. Found Slackware, moved on to FreeBSD, haven’t looked back.
All that to say I’m a Dinosaur hooked on text terminals.
Now - I put wife on Linux Mint early this year because I got tired of “fixing” her windows box. She is NOT a command-line person. It’s Firefox for mail and web stuff, open up the file thingy to get to her music, pictures, and recipes. She is a GUI person and is Happy. “GUI person” would probably describe 95-98% of users out there. I’m glad the various GUI systems exist for them.
I do use graphics on my boxes (FVWM3 manager, Xorg) which allows me to open lotsa terminal sessions for different purposes, although I do lose track after 8 or 9 terms are opened (grin). I can set the terminal names - that helps. It’s a little 3-line script.
GUIs and terms can coexist peacefully. My GUI usage is Firefox and playing movies. And the aforementioned lotsa terms. I’m glad to have both.
I also have a couple of Raspberry Pi 4 machines. They’re Linux, and fun. Bought a portable screen, small keyboard, a mouse, a wall-wart, cables, shove it all in a bag for travel when I’m on the road. Works fine.
wow, for me its about all the environments i get to have terminals running in. lol. You all enjoy that one environment window guys,, lol.
For specialized hardware such as Extreme Networks VSP 7200 and 7400 series switches, it has a Linux kernel but there’s some things you have to do from the CLI. A couple of examples are moving to a Segmented Management Instance for better Mgmt VLAN security. Another is setting up SNTP. Simply has to be done from the CLI as those setups fail from the WebGUI (EDM).
