Re: Great SWT Program

blmblm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
It occurs to me that I've somehow allowed myself to be painted
into a corner, in which it appears that I'm arguing that CLIs are
invariably and in all circumstances superior to, or at least as
good as, GUIs, when I don't believe that at all. (I might wish
it were true, but I'm by no means sure of it.)

GUIs are certainly easier for tasks one doesn't do often, as I'm
fairly sure I've said more than once. I do find that in general
they're inflexible in ways that really bug me, but probably don't
bug most people [*]. That's a minus for me, but apparently not
for others. Mileage varies.

CLIs are generally less accessible to novice users, and I'm
not sure that even for expert users they always provide a huge
advantage over GUIs as used by experts. I'm not sure how one could
really make a fair comparison. Perhaps some of the participants
here are sufficiently expert with both to make such a comparison.
I can name two who aren't.

And I think this is the essence.

Command line interfaces, text based editors with command keys
are very powerful tools when used by skilled people. Programmers,
system admins etc..

They are not good tools for the other 99% of computer users. They
don't understand the logic in them, they don't want to spend time
learning them and they really don't need them.

It is a bit like comparing a Boeing 747 with a Honda Civic. It
requires a lot more to fly a 747 than driving a Civic. Sometimes
you really need someone flying a 747, but most people are quite
happy driving a Civic.

But it does not make much sense to discuss whether a 747 or
a Civic is "best". Even though an airline pilot and an office
clerk could spend a lot of time discussing it.

Arne




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