Revival of the Command Line?
Command line interfaces are a topic I haven't heard much about in years that suddenly seems to be coming up again. At the SXSW Interactive conference that I attended recently, one of the speakers pointed out that command line interfaces, while typically harder to learn than a graphical user interface (GUI), are frequently more efficient once they have been learned. Today, I came across a website that provides a command line for web browsing! http://www.yubnub.org/
Here are some analogies to compare GUI and command line interfaces courtesy of Lyle Kantrovich.
Command Line (CLUI)
...is like ordering a meal from a short order cook, when you know what
they can serve, how they can prepare it, and exactly how to order it.
For example:
"Hey, Mac, give me a Pope Benedict and Sweet Alice with mystery in the
alley, on wheels" (to decode this, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diner_Lingo)
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
...is like having a menu (opportunistic pun) and a waiter who tells
you what the specials of the day are. Of course, half of the time,
after you order they tell you that they're out of that.
GUI "Specials of the Day" today:
1. "Do you know you have unused icons on the desktop?" and
2. "Microsoft Update, Adobe Updates, Google Updater, and Installshield
Updater all have updates for you to download and install...Mr. 'I have
nothing else to do but keep my software updated'...oh, and did I
mention that your two anti-virus and three spyware apps all need
updates? The next time you visit, maybe I can interest you in
upgrading your firewall to something other than that free version that
came with your computer."
The GUI Fast Food Server: Mr. Wizard
"Great...so you're ordering the #2. Would you like fries with that?
Are you sure? Please read this Fries 2.0 license agreement and select
'I Agree' before continuing. Great. Where would you like me to put
the fries? Installing potatoes...Oops, sorry, there's not enough
space left on your plate."
What are your thoughts? Should BMC provide command line interfaces in addition to our GUIs or are you happy with a GUI alone?


