Linked by Richard Wareham on Mon 8th Mar 2004 20:49 UTC
This essay describes the surprising results of a brief trial with a group of new computer users about the relative ease of the command line interface versus the GUIs now omnipresent in computer interfaces. It comes from practical experience I have of teaching computing to complete beginners or newbies as computer power-users often term them.
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Dave, I took a look at the screen shots and it looks interesting!
Actually, in discussions like this I always bring up AS400's ugly interface.
True, it's ugly, but it works great. The key is not the "green screen" but the feedback! The only major problem most people have with CLI is the lack of ANY directions at all...and that is really just silly. The AS400 is a great mix of screen menus and command line options. The key being that part of the screen is deticated to letting you know what to do and part is still left to do what ever you want.
One thing that most users don't see is the REAL command line...most "green screen" apps are strictly "fill-in-the-blank". The command line is awsome, It's completely free-form...you can even prompt for "blanks" to fill in to finish commands but there are menus if you want them also.
I've always wondered why there isn't an OSS analog to that format. I'd note too that it doesn't have to be UGLY to work...Autocad uses much of the same types of feedback. When you use the mouse to select things, you are really entering commands on the CLI. Seasoned users can enter commands from memory, often more complex than what you could ever enter with the mouse!
I'd have to agree with the article though. Espically supporting "older" users who really don't want to use computers, CLI is MUCH BETTER! They often can't manipulate the mouse thru all those buttons...it becomes a excercise in fustration for them. Then you have upgrades and patches that change stuff around for no reason... they just want to complete a task, not play games...CLI instructions are easier to publish too. You know how hard it is to explain the GUI blindly to somebody new to computers...versus simply printing a sheet of commands to type in!!! I'd maintain that what's needed is to start over and choose the best of both sides. Frankly, I'd start with a goal of "mouseless" because removing reliance on WIMP is the first step to computer "freedom". I'd even go so far as to look for a replacement to the mouse as an input device...it's not as useful as a simple pen, nor featured as a keyboard...it's hard to do anything USEFUL with it. You can't even write your name easily!!