

Command Lines - mcav
http://directwebremoting.org/blog/joe/2009/05/27/command_lines.html

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branden
The only good ideas I saw in this post were shell-known argument semantics
(perhaps via standardized --help output) and pipe inspection. The second idea
is already available with the pv command.

> _What other things could we do to trick out the command line?_

The reason I use a command line is specifically because it's not tricked out.

~~~
bonaldi
_The reason I use a command line is specifically because it's not tricked
out._

That's valid, but the reason I use one is that it lets me get certain tasks
done much faster than I can get them done with the gui. I don't think we've
reached the pinnacle of the form, though -- I'd much rather we could expand
the areas where it's the fastest way to get the job done.

One weakness with the standard unix cli is in discoverability. The MPW
environment for the original Mac had a great system for this -- option-enter
on any command would bring up a gui with that allowed you to build up the
options and flags. It was the perfect mix of GUI: invisible when you didn't
need it, but vastly easier for the first use of an unfamiliar command.

That said, I think the people who think like you are in the majority of CLI
users, so innovations like these will struggle to get traction. Sucks to be me
:)

~~~
branden
I agree - the CLI's biggest weakness is discoverability, and the feature you
describe is nice way to address it. And it's the right way to add a frill -
there if you need it, invisible if you don't.

Bespin's interface, on the other hand, is just obnoxious. It's great eye
candy, but there's so much visual noise and wasted space that I could easily
see it affecting productivity. I'll call it eye diabetes.

~~~
discojesus
eyeabetes?

Or as Wilford Brimley might say, "eyeabeetus."

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jrockway
So it's an "improvement" to have half your screen taken up by "chrome" with
little buttons that you have to switch to the mouse to interact with? I'll
pass.

A better example of integration like this is eshell:

[http://www.xemacs.org/Documentation/packages/html/eshell_1.h...](http://www.xemacs.org/Documentation/packages/html/eshell_1.html)

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donaq
Huh, half the time, I use shell over ssh, on servers that do not even have X
installed. How would all that eye-candy in Bespin be rendered? In ASCII?

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jsz0
I can't imagine using this Bespin thing. Looks completely counter productive.
Might as well just use GUI tools in conjunction with a plain ole' CLI. (best
tool for whatever particular job you're doing -- the way most people use CLIs
these days I suspect)

I am quite found of the fish shell as a slightly more modern approach to
command lines. Having tab completion on apt-get for example is a huge time
saver for me since I can't seem to remember exact package names to save my
lives.

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wmf
This is nice, but seeing no mentions of Hotwire or PowerShell leaves me with a
feeling of NIH.

~~~
jrockway
I think the point of this article was to show pictures of rounded corners.
Your shell _needs_ those, don't ya know...

