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From: Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: terminal only for two weeks
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2024 21:28:23 -0000 (UTC)
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On 26 Nov 2024 03:18:45 -0400, Mike Spencer wrote:

> Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
> 
>> Also, running a command line through a GUI terminal emulator lets you
>> take advantage of cut/copy/paste between windows, which is a feature
>> not available on a pure-command-line system.
> 
> The command line is like language.  The GUI is like shopping.

Did you learn in Comp Sci about the concept of “abstract machines”? To 
program a computer, you start with the bare hardware, and add layers of 
software on top of that, each creating a new “abstract machine” that is 
easier to use for narrower and narrower classes of problems, albeit less 
flexible than the machine layer below.

The command line is itself such an abstract machine, and you can create 
additional layers on top of that by writing shell scripts.

GUIs, on the other hand, are not suited to having any additional layers 
built on top of them. They are designed to be used by humans, and that’s 
that. Attempts to automate GUI operations tend not to work very well.

> Took one look at KDE (shopping) and found twm.

KDE Konsole is probably the most versatile of all the GUI terminal 
emulators.