GUI VS Terminal

[MeanDean]

not knowing the CLI and needing it is very different than knowing the CLI and not needing it

[Lou]

I frequently use the command line to launch GUI programs (including GUI text editors). Does that make me a GUI fan or a CLI fan?

We all do that at one point or another, the only difference is that in icewm and ratpoison i launch a Run Box:

IceWM: Windows key + spacebar
Ratpoison: ctrl + spacebar

especially, when i want to launch xfe as root (sudo xfe) in order to delete a file NOT in my /home.

I'm just playing with vimperator in iceweasel, having a ball, it has increased my productivity so far. The keyboard is faster in most cases.

[Mr B]

stupid elitism.

Isn't all elitism stupid?

As I get more and more comfortable with Linux I wish I could make more use of cli - but I find it very difficult to remember the commands and being slightly dyslexic as well find it rather frustrating!

[vmclark]

Regarding the visual versus verbal issue. Isn't it ALL visual. Don't you "see" the text?! I surely don't hear them.

I think it has more to do with picture form as oppose to words.

[jshipley84]

Syntax highlighting is something that I've never been particularly fond of in emacs. It looks good enough, but sometimes it takes quite a while for emacs to update the highlighting.

Every other text editor that I've ever used that did syntax highlighting updated it instantly.

[Issyer]

GUI is nice too. Python, Pygtk and Glade provide an ability for rapid application development. Surprising that we don't hear much about such projects. Supposedly they are issued not under GPL.

[debil]

Text editing may seem like the classic CLI-friendly task, but I look at it from the other direction: A GUI text editor is basically just the same, but with some advantages that come with the mouse and menus.

And yet there are editors where mouse (unnecessary, slow and distracting) and
menus (unnecessary and waste of space anyway) can be perceived as disadvantages.

Yes, I'm talking about (g)vim

[ro]

stupid elitism.

Isn't all elitism stupid?

As I get more and more comfortable with Linux I wish I could make more use of cli - but I find it very difficult to remember the commands and being slightly dyslexic as well find it rather frustrating!

I too am dyslexic. High five! I'm never sadistic enough to subject a reader to my unedited posts, though bits get through from time to time. And you're correct about elitism.

Regarding the visual versus verbal issue. Isn't it ALL visual. Don't you "see" the text?! I surely don't here them.

I think it has more to do with picture form as oppose to words.

I remember everything in pictures. When I recall text I immediately see a block of it on a page or screen in my mind. It's like having a stereotypical "photographic" memory, except that for me the words themselves are indistinct. Hence my need to refer to notes for CLI commands.

[DtW]

Text editing may seem like the classic CLI-friendly task, but I look at it from the other direction: A GUI text editor is basically just the same, but with some advantages that come with the mouse and menus.

And yet there are editors where mouse (unnecessary, slow and distracting) and menus (unnecessary and waste of space anyway) can be perceived as disadvantages.

Yes, I'm talking about (g)vim

Yes, they can be perceived as disadvantages, and I agree, but they have their advantages too. For example, scroll bar is very good and intuitive visual indicator about where am I in the document. Mouse wheel is extremely good for scrolling when I'm just reading text. (These features sometimes available in good terminals and text-based programs too.) Menus are good when I'm learning some new major mode in Emacs because I have no idea of what key bindings (or even what features) are available. When I'm more familiar with the commands I use menus less and less but occasionally I pick some rarely-needed command through menus.

Tool bar is something I never use with Emacs or GVim. Tool bars usually contain only very basic commands which user quickly learns to access through keyboard anyway. So: "(tool-bar-mode 0)" and "set guioptions-=T".

The GUI versions of Emacs and Vim are nice because they have GUI features available but user can still do everything with keyboard. With these editors the question is not necessarily about whether to use mouse or not but more dynamic user interface for different tasks. I use them mostly with keyboard but sure it's nice to drag a text file from Konqueror (file manager) or desktop to Emacs window and have the file opened there immediately. When I read a long mail or Usenet news message in Emacs (Gnus) I sometimes like to scroll with the mouse wheel. It's usually quicker to mouse-click URLs in a messages than to open them with keyboard.

So, I'm arguing that it's not very useful to limit oneself to only mouse or only keyboard type of approach. Powerful integration between applications usually comes through desktop environments and their features, for example.

[debil]

The GUI versions of Emacs and Vim are nice because they have GUI features available but user can still do everything with keyboard. With these editors the question is not necessarily about whether to use mouse or not but more dynamic user interface for different tasks. I use them mostly with keyboard but sure it's nice to drag a text file from Konqueror (file manager) or desktop to Emacs window and have the file opened there immediately. When I read a long mail or Usenet news message in Emacs (Gnus) I sometimes like to scroll with the mouse wheel. It's usually quicker to mouse-click URLs in a messages than to open them with keyboard.

That's the great thing about "more advanced" editors (and a big bunch of other apps as
well and ultimately GNU/Linux itself). That is you can choose how you use the
software. Scrolling with mouse in Gvim is something I frequently do but that's about it.
You can disable or enable toolbars, menus, colors etc. if you like and so on. And if that's
not enough, you can hack the source code and write the feature you need by yourself (if
you've got the chops for it). Or just switch to another app.

My point being I take the best of the both worlds according to situation and mood I
happen to be at the time. And another point being it's all about the choice (except when you've broken your X ).

[KOTAPAKA]

This is a bit like opposing new stuff if you are using only CLI. It's like asking whether you prefer using a mouse, cause frankly if you are using a terminal what do you need a mouse for? I reckon that everybody here has a mouse attached to their computer, right? And what's the purpose of the mouse - make things easier. However to do that it needs a GUI (well it's the other way around but you get the idea).

[Bro.Tiag]

This is a bit like opposing new stuff if you are using only CLI. It's like asking whether you prefer using a mouse, cause frankly if you are using a terminal what do you need a mouse for? I reckon that everybody here has a mouse attached to their computer, right? And what's the purpose of the mouse - make things easier. However to do that it needs a GUI (well it's the other way around but you get the idea).

Actually, gpm, General Purpose Mouse, works without even having xorg installed. The reason I use it, is because between my poor typing & my dyslexia, I need all the help I can get. Mind you, I do prefer the cli over gui's, despite my inadequacies.

Cheers

[oswaldkelso]

I remember everything in pictures. When I recall text I immediately see a block of it on a page or screen in my mind. It's like having a stereotypical "photographic" memory, except that for me the words themselves are indistinct. Hence my need to refer to notes for CLI commands.

Snap: Welcome to the DDUC (Dyslexic Debian Users Club) I can see an engine or gearbox rotating in my head with gears and pistons doing their thing, but not two letters I can see a beautiful piece of furniture in an old bit of drift wood, just waiting to be released. It's obvious to me. structure shape strength potentual possibilities just fall into place. This block of text is already way to long and I'm jumping all over the place. But to speak with me you would never no I struggle with text.

I envy people that find the cli easy. Just like many envy my creative skills. I have to delve into my notes on my phone or usb stick to find that elusive command I used. Drives me mad or to the gui

[GraphiteCube]

Terminal is a powerful tool if you know how to use it. I am still trying to memorize the shortcut key of vim (i, o, ^G...etc).

[BioTube]

I just stick with nano - it's all I need.

[Telemachus]

I just stick with nano - it's all I need.

I encourage you to rethink your horizons. I'm pretty sure that you need more: you just don't know it.

[canci]

I've become quite a console person, primarily cuz my specs are rather slow, so I learn to love lean console progs.
But sometimes I'm holding a sandwich in 1 hand and it's hard to type quickly that way - that's where my mouse and
some GUI progs like Thunar come into play

But honestly, ppl are different and like dif. approaches to computing. What's the point in labeling ppl? Using GUI progs
makes one a n00b? Formal logic anyone?

[Ook]

I remember everything in pictures. When I recall text I immediately see a block of it on a page or screen in my mind. It's like having a stereotypical "photographic" memory, except that for me the words themselves are indistinct. Hence my need to refer to notes for CLI commands.

Snap: Welcome to the DDUC (Dyslexic Debian Users Club) I can see an engine or gearbox rotating in my head with gears and pistons doing their thing, but not two letters I can see a beautiful piece of furniture in an old bit of drift wood, just waiting to be released. It's obvious to me. structure shape strength potentual possibilities just fall into place. This block of text is already way to long and I'm jumping all over the place. But :idea:to speak with me you would never no I struggle with text.

I envy people that find the cli easy. Just like many envy my creative skills. I have to delve into my notes on my phone or usb stick to find that elusive command I used. Drives me mad or to the gui

I have enough dyslexia to slow me down on text and word meanings. As I understand it, I have to reiterate the meaning of each individual word at some level in my mind while non-dyslexic can treat text like spoken language.

Also transposition of definitions. e.g., the theater scene in Annie Hall gets indexed under Hanna and Her Sisters. However I don't have problems with transposition of characters.

It is enough to compare myself to a dumb person, whatever that is. But it is not enough to recognize until I had a few decades to stumble upon exhaustive descriptions of dyslexia and to become more aware of nuances in my thought processes. They had just said I had a temporary reading problem in early elementary school. But that was the '60's!

I still like the CLI though. I plod through it. I don't have much problem with a block of text--although some posts on this forum have been a challenge that way!

Have you experimented with fonts in GUI mode to see if one is easier on you than another.

[Ook]

. . .
But sometimes I'm holding a sandwich in 1 hand and it's hard to type quickly that way - that's where my mouse and some GUI progs like Thunar come into play . . .

Typing one-handed comes in handy for broken clavicles too. I just this week got my right hand back up to the level of the desktop. Hmm, mouse and GUI, Doh! That is what I should have done!

[MeanDean]

oh yea, typing one handed comes in real handy sometimes.....