RTFM 3374

Peter T. Breuer

I specified "Without resorting to calling an application specifically designed to perform the function".

In other words, you would use a program with a graphical interface, most likely in conjunction with a pointing device such as a mouse. If you want your computer to be an autonomous enbreasty, then why do you need *any* interface?

Not very likely.

As long as you're willing to include calling up applications that utilize graphical interfaces in your definition, then fine. But that sort of renders you point moot.

Rubber bands helped. :)

On a side note, I find it interesting that you use the phrase, "somebody else". Do you consider your computer to be a person... a friend?

I can't do that with a GUI. I also have no idea how to do that with a CLI, although I will buttume that it's possible. But the only reason that it's possible is that the commands exist to build up to that. Somebody anticipated the need to do that sort of thing, or at least the building blocks leading up to it.

But that really has little to do with CLI vs. GUI, directly.

The essence of a GUI is that it presents you with choices -- a menu. Using a CLI is like walking into a restaurant and ordering without a menu. Unless you already know all the dishes the restaurant offers, you're kind of in the dark.

Think about a venerable old app like pine. It is an early example of a GUI in that it has a menu at the bottom of the screen that directs you to press certain function keys to perform certain tasks. You don't have to remember that F3 does this and F4 does that. There's been many times when using an app like a word processor or spreadsheet that I've wanted to do something and all I had to do was browse the menus to find a likely candidate.

Rod