Terminal commands vs GUI

Why not just use the terminal, no need to install a bunch of software for small purposes that your computer already can do.

It is NOT a bunch of software.
A single line command to add one function which is missing in Nautilus. Caja and Thunar have this function built in.

[edit]
(We are discussing about enabling Open as Admin (Root) function in Nautilus)

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You really don't need it, I remember using it with nemo. Like I said, you can just use the terminal. Maybe it's better for noobs, but I prefer to just use the terminal.

That is your opinion.
You have to be very careful not to mix up the fact with opinion.

The fact is that the majority of new Zorin users are coming from Windows. You really do not want to alienate those people giving the instruction in command line only.

If you want to take that course, I recommend you to go the Arch forum where CUI is much highly regarded than here.

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In my opinion, learning with the command line lets you know a lot more about the system and how to be a more productive user of Linux.

Command Line is also the easiest way to give instructions, GUI needs pictures or very detailed steps. Making a tutorial with Command Line is much easier.

I understand that new users may be hesitant to try to use the Command Line, but it really is the most powerful way to manage your computer. A new user can get use to using the terminal, it's just what most Linux users do, it's the way of Linux.

Not my daughter-in-law :wink:
She does most of everything in GUI (she is a Mint user).
I think it is impossible to generalise your opinion.

I agree with you 100%.
But it is also important to start from the easier level.
Just like when we learn how to ride bicycle, we need support wheels at the beginning.

From my own experience, I used GUI a lot at the beginning. Command line comes gradually as the time goes by. It was a natural, not a forced evolution.

I understand you are using Linux for your pleasure but majority of adults are using Linux to get their job done.

While it is a beneficial thing to learn the Terminal command, we cannot spend all our working hours just for that. We have a family to look after, bills to pay and food to buy. I think you can understand how it is like to be a responsible adult.

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You can't do everything in the terminal, u still going to run into a problem at some point. @FrenchPress should split the thread to keep the focus of this thread.

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Actually now I am curious to see how other users feel about Terminal command vs GUI. Since we deviated so far from the OP's question, I'll create another thread and move our discussions there.

[edit]
We are warped to the new thread with a moderator's magic wand
:star2:

[edit 2]
Actually, depending on what one wish to do with the system, it is possible to run everything from command lines. Almost all server machines are devoid of desktop and runs on command line only.

For example, I have a CUPS print server installed on a Raspberry Pi, which has no desktop. If I need to do anything with this server, I simply SSH to it and does everything in a terminal.

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I can see both sides on this one.

I think everyone has no doubt on where I stand on the terminal. It is a powerful utility that can do pretty much everything you need done.
But when I first migrated from Windows to Linux, I had been conditioned to avoid the command prompt as often as possible and use only GUI. The terminal was a frightening field of Unknowns.

I strongly believe in encouraging and teaching terminal use as understanding the terminal will open up whole new worlds to Linux users, empowering them in ways that alleviate a lot of frustration in using any OS.
This is partly due to the Limited Use Case of many GUI apps.
But the user must set the learning pace, not the teacher.
If you try to force the terminal on someone, they will resist. Just as I did, at first.

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I always say what does the commands do, I ALWAYS

Very true.
I used to always state what the command is for and what it does.
But you may notice how hopping the forum has become lately... When you are trying to get caught up to 34 new posts each time you log in, it is much harder to take the time and really detail a post out. You just hammer something out and move to the next one.

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image

I understand your feeling...

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I will forever think of the Forum as Whack-a-mole now.

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Or Samsara as we say in Buddhist teaching :upside_down_face:

I was always taught to learn terminal first and then the GUI version.
The difference is that I'm a Linux admin and you need to learn terminal for when your server is upset and the GUI isn't working. In the days if UNIX, there's wasn't a GUI.

I use the GUI for a lot of things and also love scripting. Adding or expanding disk in RHEL 5 is easier in the GUI. For OL8 the terminal is easier, pvresize, lvextend, xfs_growfs and your done.

If the PC is a tool then they want the OS to get out the way and let them do their job. My son's a rigger/animator, his PC is a tool for him to work on his animations. He doesn't want to have to learn ksh or bash, he wants to login as quickly as possible and starting using his applications.

On the otherhand, I'm an Oracle DBA and Linux administrator, I love getting my hand dirty, writing bash and python because it makes my job much easier and repeatable.

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My terminal experience is a quite hacky one. I recently setup a complete headless server purely out of necessity.

I wanted to run a print server with an old RaspberryPi with 1GB memory. I tested different distros but even the lightest BhodiLinux add some overhead.

I finally decided to go for headless, installed a Debian server and was amazed how fast the RasPi runs without a desktop.

For me, command line is like an encyclopaedia or telephone book. We only refer to them as we need. Reading from a cover to cover is not the most efficient way of learning it.

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I look at this in a similar fashion:

I am not a computer guy or a software engineer. I am a mechanic.

I did not start out as one, though.
I started out in computing, one of my first jobs was working for Sega.

I could type out a very long history about a guy in his twenties (which reflected in my bank account), but suffice to say, when I needed to rely on a reliable vehicle to get me to work and it was Unreliable; I quickly realized that a Basic Working Knowledge of vehicles was necessary.
Even if I was not a mechanic.
What started out as me ensuring I knew what an alternator was and how to replace it evolved into knowing how to rebuild it. Followed by transmissions, engines, carburetors... I ditched the white button up shirt and picked up the Hand Tools.
To this day, each person that comes to my shop gets all their replaced parts returned to them in a box along with a step by step walkthrough on what work I performed, what it was performed on and why. Many politely look impatient. Many don't care- they don't want to know how their car works. They just want it to work. But it takes little to change their mind when I show them what leads to being broken down on the side of the road, scared and uncertain what to do - and knowing how to take a problem and turn it into a solution.

A person needs to know the terminal.
Even if they are not a programmer.
Many do not want to learn the terminal at first and don't care about how it works. They just want it to work.
But the difference can be made by knowing how it feels to have your computer broken down and you have no idea what to do and feel powerless.

Here are the tools - To turn problems into solutions.

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Exactly my feeling.
That is why I assemble my own computer.
This way I can repair not only the software but also the hardware issue by myself. Knowledge empowers us all.

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I have been collecting Linux commands for about 10 years and I refer to this list when trying to help others and myself. They are categorized , but i certainly don't have them memorized. I refer to the list as needed and add commands related problems with to the many operating systems I've used. It's the most direct route to problem solving for me.

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You might be surprised.
I had a guy in with a 2015 Chevy truck not long ago needing ball joints. I pulled some out of the classic car parts shelves since the newer moogs were out of stock. No problem.
The alternator has changed little in decades - at least in principle. And @FrenchPress could pull out her soldering kit to wire in new brushes even on the integrated regulator/brushes models.
Strip away the anti-smog additions and it becomes pretty much the same thing.
And the reason the cars are so much quieter is not due to anything under the hood- at all. It is great developments in Noise Cancellation in the mufflers.
By bouncing the sound waves through chambers to create sound wave interference, you can cancel noise.
What makes newer cars difficult to work on is not the understanding of the principles - but Access.
On older trucks, you could open the hood, climb inside and sit on the inner wheel well and work on the engine. These days, you nearly need to pull the side-mount engine out just to change the drivebelt. Or the clutch disk... Hate clutch jobs on a sideways engine...

I have a book here (I can snap some photos) that covers the electrical, ignition, starter motor, generator, etc "for Modern cars". Published in 1910.
Though some parts look a little different, as you go through the book, you see how little has changed - even up until today.

And that Smart Shifting technology of computer controlled Automatic transmissions? Two Solenoids and an algorithm based on the output from the speed sensor. That's it. Easy Peasy.

  • Knowing the symptoms of a failing alternator is easily the First Thing I push. You can get a little voltmeter for cheap as you please. Testing the alternator is quite easy. Start the engine and turn on the headlights, radio, a/c and anything else to put the system under a load. Touch your negative to negative and positive to positive on the battery to Voltmeter and take a reading under load. It should be greater than 13.3 volts. Now, turn off the a/c, radio, lights and repeat without the load - should be greater than 13.6
  • You mentioned tread wear and depth and other basics so I won't repeat. I already fear how long this post could get.
  • I keep recordings of Bearing wear (grinding), a/c compressor sounds, u-joint wobble, etc. Helps customers match and I.D. what they heard. But it also can familiarize a person with what a sound means and what to do if they hear it (These are on the Shop Toughbook running Zorin OS Lite).
  • Drive belt and Timing Belt / chain issues; because turning an engine over after belt /chain failure can cause Valve Guide damage and therefor a blown engine.
  • This is gonna get long.

As to where to get it: Forums and guides you can buy at half-price books are good sources, but I used to recommend people come by the shop and literally Tinker. Covid ended that.
But it was, back then, far more women showed up than men. And I wasn't complaining- because removing the stereotype that women don't know cars has always been a strong goal. Teaching them how to avoid Mechanic scams and auto parts scams - especially if they are women - because the salesperson assumes they don't know. As a quick and dirty example; I mentioned above about automatic transmissions using the speed sensor to output to the computer, which translates to output to the drivetrain. It's pretty common that a bad output at the speed sensor (which is a basic Hall Effect sensor) will cause erratic shifting. When this happens, the speedometer needle is likely to jump around.
Many shops will try to sell a new transmission or offer to rebuild the transmission All you most likely need though, is to re-wire the pigtail going to that sensor. Cost you 30 cents.

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