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>> Let's be honest. What many people think of as "the default Windows command line", cmd.exe, is atrociously bad. Selection is awkward, resizing is hard, the sy

>> Let's be honest. What many people think of as "the default Windows command line", cmd.exe, is atrociously bad. Selection is awkward, resizing is hard, the syntax is arcane, the list goes on. If you do nothing else, there are two things you can do to make the basic, vanilla experience bearable. Funny, from a guy coming from Windows to Unix I think the exact opposite. Each command comes with a bazillion options and the defaults are simply atrocious (to read the man, oy). Yes I understand that you can tailor each command in some startup script but why? It almost feels like every command needs to be created to solve 5 million things when 99% of the time you use it for 1 or 2 things. A few of my favorites: Scripting: A = 123 vs A= 123 vs A=123 should be the same! Please use trim() in your program when parsing tokens! Keyboard: Please, for the love of god, make the keyboard behave like a keyboard. I don't want to be logged into some terminal and have the Backspace not behave like a backspace (^H??). Yes, I'm sure I can make it work via some, again, configuration magic or enter emacs mode, but, again, why? cd.. should just work. </rant> Having been on unix for the last 7mo after years of windows, I do like some things but let's not be too quick to call the kettle black.

wernercd 11y ago
This is the Android vs Apple paradigm. Customization available to a fault vs "appliance" that just plain works... Each has their strengths and pain points. There's a reason normal people use Windows and Power Users gravitate to Linux.
- dr_zoidberg 11y ago
  I'm a power user and I work in Windows(+Python). I absolutely hate compatibility issues on stupid stuff that plague almost every Linux distro. And when there aren't (oh the rare few cases), then you have to compile half the libraries in the system again (take the hint, Debian!). The only distro that was bearable was Mint, and then we got the poisoned ISOs. So, Windows+Python it is. If you really miss the command line utils, theres the GNU Core Utils package to solve your life (though pipes still behave slightly different and that may show in a contrived command).
onli 11y ago
> I don't want to be logged into some terminal and have the Backspace not behave like a backspace (^H??). Yes, I'm sure I can make it work via some, again, configuration magic or enter emacs mode, but, again, why? You don't have to do any magic for that normally. Even if using just xterm with bash, backspace should behave like backspace almost everywhere. You had some weird configuration there – possible you used the terminal of a greybeard?
- wdmeldon 11y ago
  I think you're correct on this one. I ran into this issue once and it was some silly, easily fixed issue. Sadly I don't remember what it was.
fsaintjacques 11y ago
Are you on Solaris? ^H is ancient history and not a thing on Linux.
restalis 11y ago
I remember a while ago, being a kid, visiting some relatives, when I've asked my guest elders why our host relatives have so many ignored problems scattered around. They discretely told me that our hosts got used to and that don't notice those anymore. This is how our mind works. In order to get out of problem blindness one may have to cure her senses or the said problems have to grow past the bearable levels. You have the gift of having clean senses, for now.
marcosdumay 11y ago
About the ^H, are you by any means telneting into a network server? That's the only way to get this problem that I know of on a modern Linux. If so, use nc or ncat, telnet expects a terminal at the other end, something no system exports anymore. It's only there for interaction with ancient configurations.
pritambaral 11y ago
> A= 123 > cd.. So your rant is about the syntax, of a language established for decades. You have options though: modify bash, or raise awareness enough that a simple `alias cd..='cd ..'` is included in the default release.
doodpants 11y ago
> Having been on unix for the last 7mo after years of windows, I do like some things but let's not be too quick to call the kettle black Who's calling the kettle black? You seem to be painting this as a Windows vs. Unix thing, but the original article never mentioned Unix.
ctstover 11y ago
let me guess (the keyboard is the give away) when you say unix, you mean osx. Yeah, that terminal induces rage, and the bash is like 40 years stale.

wernercd 11y ago

This is the Android vs Apple paradigm. Customization available to a fault vs "appliance" that just plain works... Each has their strengths and pain points. There's a reason normal people use Windows and Power Users gravitate to Linux.

dr_zoidberg 11y ago
I'm a power user and I work in Windows(+Python). I absolutely hate compatibility issues on stupid stuff that plague almost every Linux distro. And when there aren't (oh the rare few cases), then you have to compile half the libraries in the system again (take the hint, Debian!). The only distro that was bearable was Mint, and then we got the poisoned ISOs. So, Windows+Python it is. If you really miss the command line utils, theres the GNU Core Utils package to solve your life (though pipes still behave slightly different and that may show in a contrived command).

onli 11y ago

> I don't want to be logged into some terminal and have the Backspace not behave like a backspace (^H??). Yes, I'm sure I can make it work via some, again, configuration magic or enter emacs mode, but, again, why? You don't have to do any magic for that normally. Even if using just xterm with bash, backspace should behave like backspace almost everywhere. You had some weird configuration there – possible you used the terminal of a greybeard?

wdmeldon 11y ago
I think you're correct on this one. I ran into this issue once and it was some silly, easily fixed issue. Sadly I don't remember what it was.

fsaintjacques 11y ago

Are you on Solaris? ^H is ancient history and not a thing on Linux.

restalis 11y ago

I remember a while ago, being a kid, visiting some relatives, when I've asked my guest elders why our host relatives have so many ignored problems scattered around. They discretely told me that our hosts got used to and that don't notice those anymore. This is how our mind works. In order to get out of problem blindness one may have to cure her senses or the said problems have to grow past the bearable levels. You have the gift of having clean senses, for now.

marcosdumay 11y ago

About the ^H, are you by any means telneting into a network server? That's the only way to get this problem that I know of on a modern Linux. If so, use nc or ncat, telnet expects a terminal at the other end, something no system exports anymore. It's only there for interaction with ancient configurations.

pritambaral 11y ago

> A= 123 > cd.. So your rant is about the syntax, of a language established for decades. You have options though: modify bash, or raise awareness enough that a simple `alias cd..='cd ..'` is included in the default release.

doodpants 11y ago

> Having been on unix for the last 7mo after years of windows, I do like some things but let's not be too quick to call the kettle black Who's calling the kettle black? You seem to be painting this as a Windows vs. Unix thing, but the original article never mentioned Unix.

ctstover 11y ago

let me guess (the keyboard is the give away) when you say unix, you mean osx. Yeah, that terminal induces rage, and the bash is like 40 years stale.