Why do you use the terminal?

Waffelson@lemmy.world to Linux@lemmy.ml – 132 points –

Hi, everybody Recently, a guy noticed that I was using it and asked why? For me it because in Linux many things are done through the terminal because Linux has many different desktop environments

He also compared terminal commands with cheat codes in GTA and other games, he understands what benefits you take from them, but not from terminal commands

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I'm just faster in the terminal than a gui

Really depends on the task and how critical it is. I would never use gparted on the terminal, 3 clicks and I'm done in the UI, without risks.

Lol yeaaah, parted in terminal is like tar, I have to look up the commands and flags each time and then because you're messing with a disk, I have to double and triple check it.

There's no way that's true unless the GUI is straight garbage.

How can it not be true though? Terminal shines when you chain together more than one operation.

Imagine doing this in a GUI: list the files in a large directory, ignore the ones with underscores in them, find the biggest file, read the last 1000 lines from it and count the number of lines containing a particular string.

Thats a couple of pretty straightforward commands in a terminal, could take 30s for an experienced terminal user. Or the same task could take many minutes of manual effort stuffing round with multiple GUI applications.

I'm certain that I do tasks like that (ad hoc ones, not worth writing dedicated software for) tens of times in a typical work day. And I have no idea how GUI users can be even remotely productive.

How can it not be true though?

How can it? It's very simple, it takes far less time to click a mouse than it does to type a command.

Imagine doing this in a GUI: list the files in a large directory, ignore the ones with underscores in them, find the biggest file, read the last 1000 lines from it and count the number of lines containing a particular string.

Okay. I'm imagining it, it's incredibly easy. What else?

Thats a couple of pretty straightforward commands in a terminal, could take 30s for an experienced terminal user. Or the same task could take many minutes of manual effort stuffing round with multiple GUI applications.

My guy, you've never used a file explorer?

I have no idea how GUI users can be even remotely productive.

Back at ya

I can type at 100wpm, its a lot faster do just run a couple of programs than open a heavy gui program and try to find the correct button to type.

I don't care how fast you can type, you can't type faster than I can click.

If the GUI takes any time to load at all, it's garbage.

That's where alises and script's come in, I can make a 20 click's process in a gui be a single character command in the terminal.

I can make a 20 click's process in a gui be a single character command in the terminal.

If you can make it a single command in the terminal then you can make it a single click in a GUI and the GUI still wins...

for that I need to know gui codding and code the program it self, in terminal I just tie a few commands together and be done with it.

That's unfortunate for you but really besides the point.