I wI’ll ignore the question whether piping between CLI programs is an essential component of Linux, the OS, but if it is one of Linux, the UI, Linux will never get significant desktop market share (1)
In the 1980’s, computer users had to use a CLI, but very few of them could do more than start programs. Using output redirection or pipelines was extremely rare; understanding them (rather then copy-pasting magic incantations from computer magazines) even rarer.
I don’t see why that would be different today.
(1) unless the size of the desktop computer market shrinks significantly, of course. If we get to a situation where most desktop computer users are programmers, that may change.
I really hate to get pedantic here, but Linux is not an OS or a UI. Linux is a kernel, and the kernel's sole obligation is to handle processes and programs that exist outside of userland, and that's where redirection is a huge deal. Whether or not the user chooses to engage with it through a shell or CLI is up to them, but the feature is decidedly integral to running any Linux-based operating system these days.
In the 1980’s, computer users had to use a CLI, but very few of them could do more than start programs. Using output redirection or pipelines was extremely rare; understanding them (rather then copy-pasting magic incantations from computer magazines) even rarer.
I don’t see why that would be different today.
(1) unless the size of the desktop computer market shrinks significantly, of course. If we get to a situation where most desktop computer users are programmers, that may change.