GinevraCat
Evan ProdromouYes
Yes, but...
No, but...
No
Poll ended at .
Brooke Vibber 
@evan "no, but" it's easier to build a secondary gui on top of a cli than to add a secondary cli on top of a gui <3
Olivier Mehani@evan Yes if you're familiar with it, as faster and more composable. But likely less discoverable (though it has gotten better with good help and complex completion).
A search by menu name is a must-have for me in GUIs nowadays.
Hans van Zijst@Evan Prodromou Invalid question 😁
In some cases one is better, in other cases the other. Personal taste is a factor, learning curve is another...
So many factors to consider, there is no simple yes-or-no.
In some cases one is better, in other cases the other. Personal taste is a factor, learning curve is another...
So many factors to consider, there is no simple yes-or-no.
James M.@evan hard to say... depends on the person and task. IMO a CLI is far more versatile and powerful than a GUI for someone who knows the tool(s) being used, but a GUI can make its use possible in the first place by a non-techie. Also, a GUI can offer all kinds of visual data like charts, etc. I use both at different times. I said "yes, but...".
@jamesmarshall I ask hard questions!
Space Catitude 🚀@evan
Most of the time, no. But when you need it, the CLI is essential.
Most of the time, no. But when you need it, the CLI is essential.
SamUpstate (he/him)@evan not inherently, no. But there are situations where it's the better tool for the job.
Kirk Zurell@evan The more interesting question: is there a lossless conversion back and forth between a grammar and a GUI toolkit?
@kzurell hard disagree, my question is more interesting
Marty Fouts@evan Each is better suited to some tasks than the other. You can do CAD with a command line but anything that visual is usually easier with a good GUI.
Likewise, tasks that are suitable for scripting are usually better done with a command line.
The best systems mix them, using each where it is more suitable and have done for more than 50 years.
M. Grégoire@evan Depends on the task, as others have said. But as a general matter, the CLI is more powerful. Yes, but.
(I run Emacs both in GUI and terminal mode.)
toothpaste_sandwich@evan It depends on the task. I.e. no, it isn't better. Cold hard logic. Bam. Boom. Kablooie.
Bruce Elrick@evan As an IT administrator, I've found that the best-designed software has a language with objects and verbs. The language may be surfaced in a CLI and/or and API. I'm sure the code underneath follows this design.
The GUIs for these apps are layered on top of this and provide easy access to more complex actions with lots of options, the one case where a GUI is superior to a CLI.
Pau Amma@pauamma don't die wondering
senna.apk@evan No, neither is generally better than the other. They are both suited to different applications.
@earth_walker boooooooooooooooo
@evan ok, more detail: I like CLI for system administration tasks, other than that I generally prefer GUI. But if the app is very simple then CLI is fine. For example, a file converter. I struggle to remember all the flags for CLI apps and looking them up can be annoying. Also, people who brag about using CLI apps in an elitist way annoy the shit out of me. I often prefer to use tools that are more accessible to nontechnical people so I can empathize with them more as a UX designer, tech support person and web developer.
@earth_walker you're a good sport, to respond so well to my lazy teasing.
Thanks for the detailed answer.
Nicolas Guay@evan Is an apple better than an orange? Well, do you want to make an apple pie or orange juice?
@machinaecrire also apples are better than oranges
@evan Ha ha. I should have added ;-) at the end of my reply. Didn't want to sound arrogant.
@machinaecrire lol, ofc, thanks for replying
Jerry
Edwin G. 
@evan @heliomass Yes, but less convenient
Jonathan Lamothe@EdwinG @heliomass @evan Depends on your definition of convenient. With a GUI, I actually have to go over to my computer rather than SSHing in from whatever device I happen to have on hand.
sodiboo 
@evan No, not in general. But it highly depends on what the application does.
is a keyboard and mouse better than a touchscreen?
for a text editor, yeah! but for a drawing application, I'd rather take the touch screen (or a pen).
for like, a wifi menu? it shouldn't really matter. both work just as well and it's mostly a personal preference.
for a first person shooter? you could argue either way, but don't forget that lots of folks love joypads/controllers.
for a text editor, i'd much rather have a GUI than a CLI (like
for file management, it doesn't really matter. most people know how to use a GUI, lots of them even have a lot of shortcuts and tricks. but nothing beats the inline scripting of a CLI for flexibility (and again, some people swear by a TUI, like
for a patchbay graph (like
for something like ffmpeg? it has a bazillion switches that would be incredibly overwhelming to present in a WYSIWYG-GUI style. it's difficult to make it anything but a CLI. arguably, the CLI sucks too, but at least you can copy paste magic incantations instead of needing to follow a tutorial with twelve screenshots on exactly where to click.
is a keyboard and mouse better than a touchscreen?
for a text editor, yeah! but for a drawing application, I'd rather take the touch screen (or a pen).
for like, a wifi menu? it shouldn't really matter. both work just as well and it's mostly a personal preference.
for a first person shooter? you could argue either way, but don't forget that lots of folks love joypads/controllers.
for a text editor, i'd much rather have a GUI than a CLI (like
ed). but a lot of people prefer a TUI (like nano).for file management, it doesn't really matter. most people know how to use a GUI, lots of them even have a lot of shortcuts and tricks. but nothing beats the inline scripting of a CLI for flexibility (and again, some people swear by a TUI, like
ranger).for a patchbay graph (like
crosspipe), I feel like a GUI is infinitely better than a CLI. you could implement the same operations in CLI, but it would not be the same category of application.for something like ffmpeg? it has a bazillion switches that would be incredibly overwhelming to present in a WYSIWYG-GUI style. it's difficult to make it anything but a CLI. arguably, the CLI sucks too, but at least you can copy paste magic incantations instead of needing to follow a tutorial with twelve screenshots on exactly where to click.
muddle@evan If you need to build up a complex structure or even some sort of selective batch operation (eg, ripping a DVD you own), it's a lot easier to do these things interactively via a GUI than on a command line.
@me @evan Hmm. This i my first time hearing of such a thing, or such a term, anyway:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text-based_user_interface
Obviously, I've used such things many times.
squinky
Unknown Pseudoartist@evan I miss a "it depends" option, so didn't vote. I think it's faster and more convenient in some cases, but too tedious in others, so wouldn't dare to say it's better or not in general. Both can coexist pretty well, actually.
Darth Hideout 🏳️🌈For decades I have said a single-letter command-line option is all any user needs. Or deserves.
Ian Wagner@evan No, but
- CLI tools are scriptable by design, and sometimes you need that. So that counts as “better” sometimes.
- Most CLI tools could have a GUI built around the core library (you DID build a library at the core, right? Text is not an API contract…)
- CLIs are the wrong tool for many things. Like most git operations on non trivial repos, where a GUI dramatically reduces the incidence of all sorts of errors.
Arnaud Gomes@evan I'm no developer, but I do write programs, lots of them, mostly for work. All of these have a CLI, none has a GUI. Hence CLIs are better.
Anton@evan I liken command line interface to speaking and GUI to showing. CLI is more powerful, but whenever GUI is applicable, it is also more convenient.
Voting "yes, but" with the logic that if I had to choose to live in a world where only one is available, I would choose CLI -- even though I probably use GUI more right now.
Gabriel Pettier@evan i guess "it depends" would be a "no", given the affirmative, but i still voted "yes, but…" because it often is, if not always.
(another justification for "no" would be that unless you use a braille interface, a command line is still a graphical user interface)
snorker
Rabbit Cohen@evan Out of the social media I've used, you would only get these numbers (thus far) on Fedi.
@evan Computer toucher assed website.
Aljoscha Rittner (beandev)@evan
Yes, but... from my perspective. I do understand, however, that many other user groups need a graphical user interface because they can't manage without it.
So another user would answer “No,” and I would understand that.
Jessamyn@evan I answered "No, but..." and I understand why people like them and I'm sure people answering yes have different goals from me. I'm a sophisticated end user not a coder. When I hit a wall with the Wordpress GUI, the support team often tries to get me to use the CLI to resolve it, but they also want me to sort of *learn the CLI* first. I want to solve my Wordpress problem so I can do my task, not learn a new thing in an environment that I am almost never in unless it's the only option.
May Likes Toronto@evan Emphatic no. Assuming an equivalent degree of UX design to both sets of interfaces, GUIs will always be more intuitive for more people. Even more so if the GUI is accessible.
Dentaku (Thomas Renger)@evan No, but it's often faster and much easier to automate.
Sam Clemente@evan No, but there are definitely advantages to not having a GUI in some places
I don't really see a place where NOT having a CLI is actually an advantage and not just...not having a CLI
@evan Like I've seen servers run 6x more memory usage with GNOME running than if they were just CLI only
A desktop environment is important for an end user, but not so much for a sysadmin who needs every ounce of storage for *actually serving the content* instead of making it a little easier to navigate sometimes
Kyle Memoir 🍉🐧Why didn't this survey show up in my CLI where I could have completed it way faster?
Pizza Man
Stephen Dioxide 
@evan When done properly, CLI is more efficient, and a GUI is more intuitive. So, it depends on how much time you're willing to invest in learning.
For my part, I write markdown in vim, and have for years. Would I recommend it to others? Probably not.
Geoff Mackenzie@evan almost always yes for me, but for media consumption and inherently pointy clicky tasks a GUI can be superior
jmelesky@evan “No, but…” a command-line interface has more potential to be expressive and composable than a GUI.
But “expressive” and “composable” do not mean “better”, w/r/t UIs, which should be evaulated based on user experience. That includes learning curve, discoverability, and fit for purpose. GUIs are usually better from that UX perspective.
iamdtms
MrCopilot