command line vs gui
in [General Linux]
|
Prev: micro solution backpack cd-writer hell
Next: "...error while loading shared libraries: libg2c.so.0"
From: Dances With Crows on 7 Dec 2005 10:09 ["Followup-To:" header set to comp.os.linux.misc.] On Wed, 07 Dec 2005 15:31:58 +0100, Jacob Sparre Andersen staggered into the Black Sun and said: > Lee Sau Dan wrote: >> Jacob Sparre Andersen wrote: >> > No matter what, the basic concept of a command line seems to be so >> > foreign for many computer users, >> Is verbal communication that foreign? > With a computer, to many people, yes it seems like that. - No matter > how strange it seems to me. As I'm sure the people in the human-factors froup will bring up, verbal communication among humans has a metric assload of ambiguity in it. People's tones of voice typically indicate things like sarcasm, amusement, pissed-offness, and so forth. I think Lee Sau Dan meant "written communication", not "verbal", because speech recognition is a whole 'nother can of worms full of Pandora's boxes. Even with written... er, *typed* communication, lots of ambiguity exists. This particular Usenet message contains colloquialisms, idioms, mixed metaphors, creative speling, and stuff, but most English speakers can probably parse it. Most command-line interfaces don't deal well with things that fall outside their fairly narrow syntaxes. (Why didn't MS-DOS ever say "excellent command or file name!"?) Reducing the number of possibilities for input from (ASCII) to (move mouse, press 2-6 buttons) reduces the possibility of doing something totally incorrect. Sometimes. That and most of the current crop of CLI things are more "power tools for experienced users" than "learning environments". And an awful lot of human communication (even in writing) tends to rely on both humans trying to figure out what the other human *really* meant. Computers are (currently) not that good at "Do What I Mean, not what I say!". I hear there are people working on that, but their efforts are still closer to Microsoft Bob than HAL 9000. -- Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see Brainbench MVP for Linux Admin / mail: TRAP + SPAN don't belong http://www.brainbench.com / "He is a rhythmic movement of the -----------------------------/ penguins, is Tux." --MegaHAL
From: blmblm on 7 Dec 2005 10:22 In article <4396ec3a$30$fuzhry+tra$mr2ice(a)news.patriot.net>, Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz <spamtrap(a)library.lspace.org.invalid> wrote: >In <3vl59iF15td7vU1(a)individual.net>, on 12/06/2005 > at 09:51 AM, blmblm(a)myrealbox.com said: > >>Something similar applies to CLI/GUI. If you remember the command >>and the options, a CLI is often more efficient, but if you don't >>.... > >If you remember the menu structure, a GUI is often more efficient, but >if you don't .... If you remember the menu structure, *and* either the GUI supports keyboard shortcuts (which you also remember) or you're faster with the mouse than with the keyboard. No? -- | B. L. Massingill | ObDisclaimer: I don't speak for my employers; they return the favor.
From: John Hasler on 7 Dec 2005 11:58 Dances With Crows writes: > As I'm sure the people in the human-factors froup will bring up, verbal > communication among humans has a metric assload of ambiguity in it. > People's tones of voice typically indicate things like sarcasm, > amusement, pissed-offness, and so forth. I think Lee Sau Dan meant > "written communication", not "verbal", because speech recognition is a > whole 'nother can of worms full of Pandora's boxes. "verbal" is not a synonym for "oral". -- John Hasler john(a)dhh.gt.org Dancing Horse Hill Elmwood, WI USA
From: Tobias Brox on 7 Dec 2005 14:12 [Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz] >>Something similar applies to CLI/GUI. If you remember the command >>and the options, a CLI is often more efficient, but if you don't >>.... > If you remember the menu structure, a GUI is often more efficient, but > if you don't .... With a well-written GUI, you do not need any prior knowledge, it should be either obvious or enough on-line help to find out of the functionality. With a well-written CLI, it should either be enough to write "command --help" to learn about the interface, or the command should be interactive when run without parameters. -- This signature has been virus scanned, and is probably safe to read Tobias Brox, 69?42'N, 18?57'E
From: Peter T. Breuer on 7 Dec 2005 14:21
John Hasler <john(a)dhh.gt.org> wrote: > Dances With Crows writes: >> As I'm sure the people in the human-factors froup will bring up, verbal >> communication among humans has a metric assload of ambiguity in it. >> People's tones of voice typically indicate things like sarcasm, >> amusement, pissed-offness, and so forth. I think Lee Sau Dan meant >> "written communication", not "verbal", because speech recognition is a >> whole 'nother can of worms full of Pandora's boxes. > "verbal" is not a synonym for "oral". Tell that to Reverend "Verbal" Roberts. Peter |