Oh no, not another nostalgic article about old text based DOS apps! For the record,
I do spend most of my time in the console, since a have a rather old computer, and
there are lots of good console apps for Linux. (Who needs a wordprocessor when we
have TeX?)
However, it's important to realize that there is no fundamental difference between
character based interfaces and grafical interfaces. The only real differences
are WYSIWYG and displaying graphics. OTOH there's nothing you can't do with a
GUI that you can do in textmode. But you still have the same principles -- buttons,
text entry boxes, chechboxes, windows, menus etc. The difference is the bandwidth
of the interface. A typical console can display 80x25 characters; how many characters
can you display on a 1600x1200 X display? In GUIs you can clutter the screen with
enormous amounts of icons, buttons, toolbars and whatever; character based apps can
only display a limited amount of information at a time, so the interface can't be
as complex.
It's the forced simplicity -- the limitations -- of the text mode, that makes
many textmode interfaces "better" than GUIs. Also, you can't expect console users
to have a mouse, so the interface has to be completely keyboard based, the mouse
is just a complement (the way it should be IMHO).
So, the old console doesn't really have any inherent advantages over the GUI
(except when you on an old box or telnetting). But, many GUI apps could learn a
thing or two from many text apps -- keep the interface simple and uncluttered,
and only use the mouse as a complement to the keyboard. Of course, there are also
lots of examples of bad character interfaces. . .
