11–20 of 271 posts
I read this during my university graduation ceremonies. It was hidden in a fold in my robes. It was the most fitting thing I could have done, as I immediately changed my life direction and focused on exactly the ideas outlined in this work. My goal: move the world from the command line. I've almost managed to.
We should move to the Command Table.
As a conceptual framework http://augmentingcognition.com/assets/Kay1977.pdf
Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they:
- Don't know the context of what they are executing
- Don't know about the concept of input and output
Input and output are also obvious. Input is what you type, output is what you see. Using pipes to redirect it comes naturally.
Not being natively connected to context, input and output is often at the core of problems I see even senior programmers struggle with.
The command line is still king. Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they: - Don't know the context of what they are executing - Don't know about the concept of input and output On the command line, the context is obvious. You are in the context. The working dir, the environment, everything is the same for you as it is for the thing you execute via ./mything.py. Input and output are also obvious.…
“To make a building, you need to have a foundation, something to keep the roof up, and a way for people to move inside.”
This essay by Neal Stephenson was first published in 1999. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Beginning..._Was_the_... The analogy of OS as cars (Windows is a station wagon, Linux is a tank) is brought up in the recent Acquired episode on Microsoft, where Vista was a Dodge Viper but Windows 7 was a Toyota Camry, which is what users actually wanted.
Windows XP would probably be an old 1970s Volvo that is still, somehow, running in all kinds of places otherwise forgotten by the waking world.
The command line is still king. Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they: - Don't know the context of what they are executing - Don't know about the concept of input and output On the command line, the context is obvious. You are in the context. The working dir, the environment, everything is the same for you as it is for the thing you execute via ./mything.py. Input and output are also obvious.…
The command line is still king. Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they: - Don't know the context of what they are executing - Don't know about the concept of input and output On the command line, the context is obvious. You are in the context. The working dir, the environment, everything is the same for you as it is for the thing you execute via ./mything.py. Input and output are also obvious.…
This is such generic advice about computing, it’s like saying: “To make a building, you need to have a foundation, something to keep the roof up, and a way for people to move inside.”
CorelDraw feels more efficient because one quickly has what looks like a beautiful, colorful house on the screen. And then one does not understand why the doors don't work correctly.
The command line is still king. Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they: - Don't know the context of what they are executing - Don't know about the concept of input and output On the command line, the context is obvious. You are in the context. The working dir, the environment, everything is the same for you as it is for the thing you execute via ./mything.py. Input and output are also obvious.…
The command line is still king. Whenever I see new coders struggle, it usually is because they: - Don't know the context of what they are executing - Don't know about the concept of input and output On the command line, the context is obvious. You are in the context. The working dir, the environment, everything is the same for you as it is for the thing you execute via ./mything.py. Input and output are also obvious.…
The more experience I accumulate, the more I rely on GUIs. Explanation: when I was younger I used exclusively the CLI and underestimated GUIs. Now I tend to appreciate GUIs and use them more.
If one starts with GUIs and doesn't really understand what is behind, then all kinds of trouble happen.
So I guess, as with any tool, understanding is key.