Command Line vs. GUI Reality Check

[ Thanks to JJS
for this link. ]

“Before I dive into the firepit, let me explain that I
spent the first half of my career in the IBM mainframe world, which
meant writing Job Control Language (JCL) to submit batch jobs. Part
of that time, I spent maintaining a TCP/IP stack written in
assembler language. Compared to that, the distance between the
command line and the GUI is much smaller than their advocates seem
to realize.

“To be honest, I didn’t use GUIs for a quite a while after they
became available. I didn’t fight them so much as I just didn’t find
them intuitive or efficient. However, as usability studies improved
the interfaces and processor speeds increased their capabilities, I
gradually came to appreciate what they provide.

“I think that much of the bias in favor of GUIs comes from the
saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And certainly,
pictures of cityscapes or family reunions or battlefields convey
much more information than even the best description. However,
imagine having to draw a picture to say, “I’m thirsty,” or, “Turn
left at the next light,” or even to describe how to use a graphical
user interface to a first time user. Very often, a few words are
more efficient than any picture.”

Complete Story