Command line v/s GUI

Ah! The perennial battle in computing. Which is better the command-line or the GUI?

Well, ever since Xerox (not Apple and definitely not Microsoft!!) developed the GUI to make things simpler for newbies, they have opened a can of worms. Though it is undeniable that this has resulted in an explosion in the number of computer users, ultimately, a GUI can only do so much. Indeed, in many operating systems, particularly the Unices, a GUI program will just translate the option selected by the user into options that would normally be entered on the command line. This make things much easier for newbies, but much more restrictive.

Another major grouse I have with the GUI is the mouse. Personally, I find it very irritating to move and click for anything I need to do, when a short command may be all that is necessary. This particularly rears its head while copying and renaming files.

Another good reason for using the command-line over the GUI is that it enables a lot of work to be done remotely over the network, unless you use web-based administration (for example, on Debian GNU/Linux).

Finally, a very esoteric reason for disliking GUIs. Personally I feel that commands like "cp source destination" are a lot closer to English than just dragging and dropping files.

However, when trying out new programs, I often do prefer the restricted environment of the GUI, mainly to avoid wrecking any hardware thanks to wrong settings. At the same time, though I still find the command-line more convenient if not quicker.

This also contributes to my preference for Unices over other operating systems which have a limited command-line environment.