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[-] callyral@pawb.social 134 points 3 weeks ago

" i shouldn't have to memorize commands"

the up arrow:

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 87 points 3 weeks ago

The commands: ls cp mv...

Meanwhile you get Windows people who memorize things like Get-AllUsersHereNowExtraLongJohn

[-] loweffortname 35 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Get-ListOfFunnyPowershellReferences++

(Seriously...ExtraLongJohn is damn funny)

[-] Zorsith 14 points 3 weeks ago

Get-command -noun <string[]>

Handy AF

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[-] renzev@lemmy.world 37 points 3 weeks ago

Just wait until they learn about ctrl-R haha

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 39 points 3 weeks ago

I've seen people not realize tab autocompletes.

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

I learned that tab=autocomplete when I first played minecraft in grade school haha. I just assumed that it was common knowledge but apparently not...

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[-] SinkingLotus@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago

I'm the type to spend 10 minutes going through my previous commands, rather than 5 seconds typing it.

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[-] ianhclark510 73 points 3 weeks ago

Thatโ€™s it, I need to hook up a controller to my PC so I can open Htop with a button press

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 39 points 3 weeks ago

Almost as painful as using vim on your phone without an external keyboard

[-] Badabinski@kbin.earth 16 points 3 weeks ago

I genuinely use vim inside of termux on a daily basis. I dunno if I'm sick in the head or what, but I kinda like vim on my phone.

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[-] TootSweet@lemmy.world 65 points 3 weeks ago

The only thing worse than reading documentation/tutorials about how to do things in GUIs is writing documentation about how to do things in GUIs. It's just screenshot after screenshot. And following it is like playing a ScummVM game, only less fun and lots more alt+tabbing.

[-] pivot_root@lemmy.world 35 points 3 weeks ago

Screenshots? Look at Mr. Speedy Pants over here!

In my experience, half the time it's a bloody YouTube video. Nothing says "fun" like having to seek back around in a video to find the next step without waiting 20 extra seconds because you already had to seek back and pause the video after it breezed past an overcomplicated and poorly explained step.

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[-] glitchdx@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago

If the GUI is good, then it's self documenting.

I've got a new favorite quote: "I don't need tutorials, I need verbose tooltips." -Wonderbot

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[-] Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world 55 points 3 weeks ago

Are there people who are mad at other people for using the terminal? Is this really a thing that exists?

[-] 3xBork@lemmy.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

Not really. But you know, gotta find ways to feel smarter than other people so here we go.

[-] rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

And those Windows evangelists! Don't we all know 'em with their strong opinions about operating systems? *shakes fist at cloud*

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[-] ftbd@feddit.org 36 points 3 weeks ago

There are definitely people who think it is reasonable to memorize button locations and 10 levels of menus in GUI programs but would rather go into cardiac arrest than use something like program --option input-file output-file.

[-] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 20 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

thing with gui is you don't need to memorize button locations and menus. If you do it's poor layout. Good gui lets you find things you didn't know you were looking for intuitively, without external resources or manual. CLI requires you to know what exactly you are doing and is impossible to use without external resources. Nothing against terminal but unless you know what you are doing and every command required to complete that action, it's ass. If gui was so bad and cli was so good, guis would not be used by anyone.

I mean you dont go around copy pasting device ids and running commands for 20 minutes to connect your device through terminal when it is done with 2 clicks in the gui even by someone who has never used a pc before.

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[-] JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It's not that they are mad others use CLI, it's that they're mad that Linux devs regularly stop creating P&CI features, instead opting for CLI with no P&CI equivalent action.

It's kind of obvious why - CLI is already very flexible right out of the box, and it takes much less work to add functionality within CLI rather than creating it for the P&CI.

At the same time, I understand the P&CI folk's frustration, since one of biggest obstacles to getting more people on Linux is the lack of P&CI solutions, and the fact that many actions on Linux are explained solely via CLI.

CLI folks have invested the time to use terminals effectively and view overuse of the P&CI as beneath them, and P&CI folks have no interest in dumping time into learning CLI to do something they could do on Windows with P&CI.

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[-] _____@lemm.ee 47 points 3 weeks ago

meanwhile Windows users: let me drop into this random strangers discord who claims he will make my PC faster by dropping this .bat file that will run thousands of commands to "debloat" my install. also let me edit the registry and add random values to keys that I don't know what they're used for. this process is basically irreversible because I will inevitably forget which keys I've edited over time, wow windows is so simple and easy and intuitive ๐Ÿคก

[-] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 15 points 3 weeks ago

That's not a windows problem, it's a user problem. The same scenario could play out with a shell script that modifies a hundred dotfiles. Lots of solutions on Linux help forums are "Paste this into your terminal. Don't forget the sudo!"

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[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 46 points 3 weeks ago

i dont use the terminal to be productive, i use it to feel like a hacker

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

Setting the colorscheme to green on black increases hacker rating by 20%

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[-] BoiBy@sh.itjust.works 42 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I use Linux and I prefer GUIs. I'm the kind of person that would rather open a filemanager as superuser and drag and drop system files than type commands and addresses. I hope you hax0rs won't forget that we mere mortals exist too and you'll make GUIs for us ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™

[-] Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago

Tbf, the file explorer is actually one really good argument for GUIs over terminals. Same with editing text. Its either simple enough to use Nano or I need a proper text editor. I don't mess around with vim or anything like that that.

Its all tools. Some things are easier in a file manager, some things are easier in a GUI.

[-] spicehoarder@lemm.ee 13 points 3 weeks ago

You've angered the Emacs gods ๐Ÿ˜จ

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[-] fidgeting9658@lemmings.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

I mean, the reverse is also true, people have memorized which buttons, menus, etc they need to click/drag with do be productive. Sometimes i m OK with all the clicking, but most times I just want to do the thing now.

Type 3 words or click through 9 context menus. ๐Ÿ˜…

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 19 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah exactly ANY interface made by humans speaks a design language, and it's only "intuitive" insofar as the user understands that language. There's nothing inherently "intuitive" about GUI, it's a language that you've learned through a long process of trial and error. This is painfully obvious to anyone who's ever had to help Grandma reset her gmail password out over the phone. Same for CLI. At first you're copy-pasting commands from tutorials and struggling with man pages, but after a while you get used to the conventions. You learn that -h helps you out and --verbose tells you more and so forth. You could make the case that the GUI design language is more intuitive because it's based of physical objects like buttons and sliders that many people are familiar with, but honestly ever since we abandoned skeumorphic design that argument rings a little hollow.

[-] some@programming.dev 15 points 3 weeks ago

That's a very nuanced analysis. I've explained it this way especially to people who describe themselves as "bad at computers". Hey, give yourself a break, you've learned a lot about how to cope with windows. But this investment leads to a conservatism--- they dont want to learn coping skills o a new system. The devil you know.

I'd just add that GUI is more discoverable. When faced with a terminal, what to do? Whereas with a GUI you have a menubar, some icons etc. The GUI gives a lot more hints.

In the terminal (which I love) it is more powerful once you know how to crack the lid.

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[-] salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 36 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Are the "Windows evangelists" in the room with us right now? Every Windows admin I know hates Microsoft with a burning rage. Literally the only people I've ever seen promote Windows are being paid to do it.

Counterintuitively, that's one reason I like dealing with Windows: the community knows what it is and doesn't pretend otherwise, like some other more "zealous" fan bases.

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 25 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Literally the only people Iโ€™ve ever seen promote Windows are being paid to do it.

Yeah, that's the demographic I had in mind. Lemmy is full of paid shills lol.

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[-] Randelung@lemmy.world 36 points 3 weeks ago

CLI is effective because every command serves a specific purpose. UIs are the opposite, you have to imagine all possible intentions the user could have at any given point and then indicate possible actions, intuitively block impossible actions, and recover from pretty much any error.

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[-] Stanley_Pain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 3 weeks ago

Whenever someone cries about the command line, I just post the link to Cookie clicker for the mousers out there

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[-] jackalope@lemmy.ml 26 points 3 weeks ago

It's is not either or. Also good cli require an eye for design just like gui. Lots of cli suck because there is no eye.

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[-] forrcaho@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago

CLI is being able to speak a language to tell your computer what to do; GUI is only being able to point and grunt.

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[-] fmtx 20 points 3 weeks ago

I'm more impressed that they can use a gamepad for CLI input.

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[-] Nyadia 20 points 3 weeks ago

Perception: "the CLI is scary and hard to use" Reality: "computer, install gimp" "yessir, that'll be 141MB, is that okay?"

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[-] dalekcaan@lemm.ee 19 points 3 weeks ago

It's all a matter of preference anyway (assuming you have both options anyway). CLI is less intuitive and takes longer to learn, but can be wicked fast if you know what you're doing. GUI is more intuitive and faster to pick up, but digging through the interface is usually slower than what a power user can accomplish in the CLI.

It depends on what your use case is and how you prefer your work flow. The only dumb move is judging how other people like their setup.

[-] Eyedust@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 weeks ago

CLI this, GUI that. Where are my TUI degens?

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[-] Tin@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I do most of my work at the command line, my co-workers do think I'm nuts for doing it, but one of our recent projects required us all to log into a client's systems, and a significant portion of the tasks must be done via bash prompt. Suddenly, I'm no longer the team weirdo, I'm a subject matter expert.

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[-] stembolts@programming.dev 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

On CLI I figure out the command I need once.

Put it in a script.

Cron it if I want it to be daemonized.

Never think about it ever again.

Anti-CLI folks just have a bad workflow.

They see the script as the end, when in reality it's a foundation. I rarely look at my foundation. I build on it.

With this workflow I have dozens, hundreds, or thousand of automatic actions that "just work". Idk, works for me.

That said, if you prefer to click yourself to RSI to accomplish the same task, who am I to judge. I just watch and nod until I'm asked for a suggestion.

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[-] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

I used to be on the yelling guys side and boy was I wrong. I now write scripts to do anything repetitive, all the time and it's great. I have a whole library of them I use and add to and improve all the time.

Yeah, I was wrong.

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 15 points 3 weeks ago

Did a process last week that took me 13 steps in the command line that took about an hour. If I'd have done it manually it would have taken days. After I worked out how to do it I trimed it down to 6 steps and sent it to my coworker that also needs that information. His eyes glazed over on step two of explaining it to him and he's just going to keep doing it his way....

[-] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 14 points 3 weeks ago

There is nothing productive about searching online for some stupid command that is outdated for 2 years, breaks some shit and then you need another 2 hours to unfuck it because it's not obvious from the long noodle of a command how to revert it. For something that could just be 3 clicks through control panel that every idiot could navigate without having to use online search engine.

[-] renzev@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You're the type of guy we're making fun of btw

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[-] MissingInteger@lemm.ee 14 points 3 weeks ago

Memorize? Nah.
I search through my endless command history with fzf and look up commands I donโ€™t remember with cheat.sh

[-] IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

My guy, it's because you're the vegans of tech.

Nobody cares. It doesn't need to be your personality.

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[-] danhab99@programming.dev 13 points 3 weeks ago

Imo I don't memorize commands. Everything on my zsh is so aliased that I don't think I can teach someone else how to use any other cli.

It just turned into me telling the machine what I want it to do and let it figure out how to rather than me do every little button click step.

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this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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