In defence of the Command Line Interface

[fatality_uk]

But that script can be used over and over again. 30mins to write it, 30 seconds to apply its functionality to thousands of images.

Oh come one!!! You are right, that will work well for 1,000 images that ALL require the same processing, but if you want make a lot of different changes to lots of different files, GUI is the way to go.

Oh dear.. someone else who wants everything done for them. If you want to do it, learn, don't just ask for a script, ask for help.

Really. Perhaps you didn't read my other posts. I can write bash, py and other scripts I administer a SCO UNIX box for a living so the lack of a GUI ain't a problem to me. I was merely pointing out that tasks such as image editing are easier using a GUI. I don't need a script for that, I have GIMP.

[swoll1980]

Command lines are for servers, and administrators. There is no reason a user would ever want to, or have to use a Command line. This is reason why the GUI was such a popular innovation, and why it is so widely used. It allows people with limited knowledge of computers to be productive with them. The myth that you have to know the CLI to use Linux needs to be killed already.

[sudoer541]

Only in some countries (the ones with very silly laws).



The CLI is for whoever wants to put in the effort to learn how to use it. For those people, server admins or not, the CLI is a fast, useful, and flexible tool.



If I have a bunch of files of many different types in a folder and I want to move all the mp3s to a music folder; which is faster - going through the folder in nautilus while holding Ctrl and clicking all the mp3s, then dragging them to the music folder or

mv ~/somefiles/*.mp3 ~/Music

Nooo LOL its easier to drag and drop the file instead of writing a whole novel to accomplish a simple task LOL!!
who uses the CLI today anyway? Only 5% of computer users use it + businesses.

[K.Mandla]

Fear the CLI.

[NightwishFan]

CLI is amazing. I was astounded how intuitive it is when the basics are mastered.

[qamelian]

Command lines are for servers, and administrators. There is no reason a user would ever want to, or have to use a Command line. This is reason why the GUI was such a popular innovation, and why it is so widely used. It allows people with limited knowledge of computers to be productive with them. The myth that you have to know the CLI to use Linux needs to be killed already.

Well, that's just wrong. Even when I'm just in end-user mode, I still make use of the CLI for a lot of things because for some tasks it really is better or faster than a GUI. If doing some thing via point & click is going to take me measurably longer than doing the same task via CLI, you can bet I'm going command line. Some task really do lend themselves better to one interface method over the other, and GUI is not always the best tool for the job. It might be what you're most comfortable with, but that doesn't mean it's the best tool.

[nothingspecial]

What about if you wanted to move every .flac file in your Home directory where ever it is to a backup drive called /media/music

find ~/ -name *.flac -exec mv '{}' /media/music/ \;

That`s got to be quicker than doing it manually, however slow you type.

Or remove every file in your mp3 directory that is not an mp3

find /media/music/mp3 -type f \! -name "*.mp3" -exec rm '{}' \;

That is not a novel, but you could have read one while you did it with your mouse if your mp3 directory is big enough.

[malspa]

Command lines are for servers, and administrators. There is no reason a user would ever want to, or have to use a Command line.

Well, on my computer, I am both the only user and the only administrator. I'm glad that I have both CLI and GUI options.

The myth that you have to know the CLI to use Linux needs to be killed already.

I don't think you necessarily have to know the CLI to use Linux, but it certainly helps. It makes life easier to be able to go back and forth between GUI and CLI in Linux, whenever you need or want to use one or the other. Being able to use the CLI gives you more tools at your disposal. I find it hard to understand why anyone would not be able to see that, unless they have just never taken the time to learn to use the CLI, for whatever reason.

The CLI is for whoever wants to put in the effort to learn how to use it. For those people, server admins or not, the CLI is a fast, useful, and flexible tool.

Yep.

[malspa]

In Linux, you have this great tool (CLI) at your fingertips. If you want to ignore it, that's your choice... but those people who take the time to learn to use it are better off, no matter what GUI-only people think.

[fatality_uk]

What about if you wanted to move every .flac file in your Home directory where ever it is to a backup drive called /media/music

find ~/ -name *.flac -exec mv '{}' /media/music/ \;

That`s got to be quicker than doing it manually, however slow you type.

Or remove every file in your mp3 directory that is not an mp3

find /media/music/mp3 -type f \! -name "*.mp3" -exec rm '{}' \;

That is not a novel, but you could have read one while you did it with your mouse if your mp3 directory is big enough.

All the "batch" type examples are great, however, I bet a can create a complex graphic svg file with text and fades in Inkscape faster than creating it using the CLI, or am I wrong?

Totally right about moving files etc, much faster using CLI