5 ms·

Igloo: A simple Windows automation tool

148 points by easyigloo 7y ago

akersten 7y ago
This is a really neat project. But the website undersells it. It took me until reading the docs to understand that this is an alternative to many raw Windows utilities / PowerShell commands, which (to me) are notoriously hard to remember and have goofy capitalization. For example: update Instead of wuauclt /updatenow Or, to enable Windows Biometrics: install feature biometrics Instead of: dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Biometrics Really, really great. But both the landing page and the About page desparately need a "quick to see" example of the project. I didn't even read past the first paragraph in the About page, to be honest. Make it prominent what the app is right away on the splash page. Edit: The new About page is much better!
- Riverheart 7y ago
  Or you could just create an alias for commands you use often. For that second command Install-WindowsFeature Biometrics is almost as long and you're tab completing anyway.
- ndespres 7y ago
  Your examples aren't Powershell commands, they are Windows command line utilities and could be run from command prompt. Real Powershell commands are quite intuitive, support pipelines and are object driven. Give it some credit! For example: Install-WindowsFeature Biometric
  - manojlds 7y ago
    Also, PowerShell comands themselves come with aliases, like cls for Clear-Host And it's not arbitrary reason . PowerShell is closer to a OOP language than other shells.
    - TheCuckedKing 7y ago
      Windows blows regardless. Chill, guy.
    - majkinetor 7y ago
      Not only that, but aliases are also guessable as they are created using the same pattern, one or 2 letters for noun and usually 2 for verb: rjb Remove-Job, etsn Enter-Session, gc Get-Content, gps Get-Process (but also ps for historical and even more discovery resons) In my book, anybody complaining about terseness of powershell knows 0 about it and should be treated as ignorant. Give me a random bash command and I will probably make it shorter in Powershell without any custom made mumbo jumbo.
  - akersten 7y ago
    Thanks. I updated my post. I don't really do Windows command-line, so it's easy for me to conflate the two.
- easyigloo 7y ago
  Thank you for the excellent feedback.
- majkinetor 7y ago
  Is that really really that great? It is a collection of syntax sugars, anybody can make one in an hour. Here is mine: * https://github.com/majkinetor/posh/tree/master/MM_Sugar https://github.com/majkinetor/posh/tree/master/MM_Sugar In it you can see things like `groups` in `Show-Group` that can be used to show Windows groups you belong to, or typical linux commands for machine restarting in Shutdown.ps1 (halt, reboot...) and something I use zillion times a day: function Enter-Parent { cd .. } function Enter-GrandParent { cd ..\.. } sal .. Enter-Parent sal ... Enter-GrandParent Aim of the project is probably to have more standardized syntax sugars rather then each person inventing their own...
BubRoss 7y ago
This is an alternative command line, just in case anyone thought it was going to be something with a UI.
kstenerud 7y ago
Very cool! Some thoughts: 1. As a replacement shell, it's not scriptable. If you haven't already, you should make it such that you can do one-shot commands from a regular shell without entering the full environment. For example: igloo crypto connect <name> 2. There is no highlights section on the website talking about why this project is awesome. You need examples of things that any IT person will instantly recognize as gold. 3. I was having trouble navigating the docs section from a mobile device. Desktop interface works perfectly, though. 4. Change your about page. You're denigrating yourself, and making yourself and the project look weak. This project is an amazing accomplishment, so present it and yourself as such!
- easyigloo 7y ago
  That is great feedback. Thank you. I took your advice and changed the About page. Thanks for your encouragement.
theelous3 7y ago
It's entirely unclear as to what this actually is. The blurbs read like one of those "we create solutions for complex business needs" kind of things.
- t0astbread 7y ago
  How so? They clearly show their set of tools in detail in the docs.
  - theelous3 7y ago
    Im sure I could eventually figure out what tensorflow is for by reading the code, but there are correct ways to convey information about the purpose of a thing.
tbyehl 7y ago
> Windows command-line interface with syntax that is terse and easy to understand. Funny. The verbosity of Powershell was definitely a turn-off before I started using it... but it wasn't long before I came to see it as one of Powershell's greatest strengths. Verb-Noun is great for discoverability and a script that avoids aliases should be understandable by someone who doesn't know the first thing about Powershell, what the script does, or even scripting in general. Terseness is an anti-feature. K&R got it wrong.
- sverhagen 7y ago
  >K&R Could you be a little less terse here?
  - pests 7y ago
    Probably means Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. Authors of Unix/C and the book "The C Programming Language". I believe it is also used to refer to the format/syntax of C before ANSI C was standardized.
    - earenndil 7y ago
      They were joking.
- earenndil 7y ago
  > Terseness is an anti-feature. K&R got it wrong. I disagree. You spend very little time learning a language, compared to the amount of time you spend using it. It pays to take the up-front cost of learning the language in exchange for increased productivity later. EDIT: consistency, discoverability, and user-friendliness are all important. But those are all as part of productivity, where productivity is optimized for people who have already spent a decent amount of time learning the shared language; that is to say that terseness, consistency, and discoverability all work together. This is why sed syntax is not so terse as machine language, because sed is still designed to be used by humans.
  - 7y ago
dillonmckay 7y ago
How does this compare to AutoIt? [edit] Igloo simplifies Windows administration by offering pre-made aliases for lengthy PowerShell commands. For example, displaying outbound firewall rules in PowerShell uses the following syntax... Totally different.
- gregmac 7y ago
  Yeah, unless I'm missing something, "automation" seems to be a misnomer. I was looking at it thinking along the lines of something like Autoit, Puppet or Ansible, which just made me confused reading the docs. Calling it a "simplified administration shell" or "logically organised cli shortcuts" would be closer to what it really is, I think.
sitzkrieg 7y ago
neat project, but awful landing page. dont force technical users to immediately click about to get a remote clue what it's really about
majkinetor 7y ago
tldr: Bunch of syntax sugars. No automation at all.
- easyigloo 7y ago
  Syntax sugars are definitely a part of the app, but it does a lot more than simple 1:1 aliases. I used it to back up the running configs of around 400 Cisco devices last week. Thanks for your feedback in any case.
t0astbread 7y ago
Looks sleek! I'd definitely use it if I were still on Windows.
mrtweetyhack 7y ago
yawn
WhiteOwlLion 7y ago
This wasn't that well received by sysadmin's on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/bvrlh6/i_created_a_free_application_that_has_some_useful/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/bvrlh6/i_created_...

148 points by easyigloo 7y ago

This is a really neat project. But the website undersells it. It took me until reading the docs to understand that this is an alternative to many raw Windows utilities / PowerShell commands, which (to me) are notoriously hard to remember and have goofy capitalization. For example: update Instead of wuauclt /updatenow Or, to enable Windows Biometrics: install feature biometrics Instead of: dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Biometrics Really, really great. But both the landing page and the About page desparately need a "quick to see" example of the project. I didn't even read past the first paragraph in the About page, to be honest. Make it prominent what the app is right away on the splash page. Edit: The new About page is much better!

Riverheart 7y ago
Or you could just create an alias for commands you use often. For that second command Install-WindowsFeature Biometrics is almost as long and you're tab completing anyway.
ndespres 7y ago
Your examples aren't Powershell commands, they are Windows command line utilities and could be run from command prompt. Real Powershell commands are quite intuitive, support pipelines and are object driven. Give it some credit! For example: Install-WindowsFeature Biometric
- manojlds 7y ago
  Also, PowerShell comands themselves come with aliases, like cls for Clear-Host And it's not arbitrary reason . PowerShell is closer to a OOP language than other shells.
  - TheCuckedKing 7y ago
    Windows blows regardless. Chill, guy.
  - majkinetor 7y ago
    Not only that, but aliases are also guessable as they are created using the same pattern, one or 2 letters for noun and usually 2 for verb: rjb Remove-Job, etsn Enter-Session, gc Get-Content, gps Get-Process (but also ps for historical and even more discovery resons) In my book, anybody complaining about terseness of powershell knows 0 about it and should be treated as ignorant. Give me a random bash command and I will probably make it shorter in Powershell without any custom made mumbo jumbo.
- akersten 7y ago
  Thanks. I updated my post. I don't really do Windows command-line, so it's easy for me to conflate the two.
easyigloo 7y ago
Thank you for the excellent feedback.
majkinetor 7y ago
Is that really really that great? It is a collection of syntax sugars, anybody can make one in an hour. Here is mine: * https://github.com/majkinetor/posh/tree/master/MM_Sugar https://github.com/majkinetor/posh/tree/master/MM_Sugar In it you can see things like `groups` in `Show-Group` that can be used to show Windows groups you belong to, or typical linux commands for machine restarting in Shutdown.ps1 (halt, reboot...) and something I use zillion times a day: function Enter-Parent { cd .. } function Enter-GrandParent { cd ..\.. } sal .. Enter-Parent sal ... Enter-GrandParent Aim of the project is probably to have more standardized syntax sugars rather then each person inventing their own...

BubRoss 7y ago

This is an alternative command line, just in case anyone thought it was going to be something with a UI.

kstenerud 7y ago

Very cool! Some thoughts: 1. As a replacement shell, it's not scriptable. If you haven't already, you should make it such that you can do one-shot commands from a regular shell without entering the full environment. For example: igloo crypto connect <name> 2. There is no highlights section on the website talking about why this project is awesome. You need examples of things that any IT person will instantly recognize as gold. 3. I was having trouble navigating the docs section from a mobile device. Desktop interface works perfectly, though. 4. Change your about page. You're denigrating yourself, and making yourself and the project look weak. This project is an amazing accomplishment, so present it and yourself as such!

easyigloo 7y ago
That is great feedback. Thank you. I took your advice and changed the About page. Thanks for your encouragement.

theelous3 7y ago

It's entirely unclear as to what this actually is. The blurbs read like one of those "we create solutions for complex business needs" kind of things.

t0astbread 7y ago
How so? They clearly show their set of tools in detail in the docs.
- theelous3 7y ago
  Im sure I could eventually figure out what tensorflow is for by reading the code, but there are correct ways to convey information about the purpose of a thing.

tbyehl 7y ago

> Windows command-line interface with syntax that is terse and easy to understand. Funny. The verbosity of Powershell was definitely a turn-off before I started using it... but it wasn't long before I came to see it as one of Powershell's greatest strengths. Verb-Noun is great for discoverability and a script that avoids aliases should be understandable by someone who doesn't know the first thing about Powershell, what the script does, or even scripting in general. Terseness is an anti-feature. K&R got it wrong.

sverhagen 7y ago
>K&R Could you be a little less terse here?
- pests 7y ago
  Probably means Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. Authors of Unix/C and the book "The C Programming Language". I believe it is also used to refer to the format/syntax of C before ANSI C was standardized.
  - earenndil 7y ago
    They were joking.
earenndil 7y ago
> Terseness is an anti-feature. K&R got it wrong. I disagree. You spend very little time learning a language, compared to the amount of time you spend using it. It pays to take the up-front cost of learning the language in exchange for increased productivity later. EDIT: consistency, discoverability, and user-friendliness are all important. But those are all as part of productivity, where productivity is optimized for people who have already spent a decent amount of time learning the shared language; that is to say that terseness, consistency, and discoverability all work together. This is why sed syntax is not so terse as machine language, because sed is still designed to be used by humans.
- 7y ago

dillonmckay 7y ago

How does this compare to AutoIt? [edit] Igloo simplifies Windows administration by offering pre-made aliases for lengthy PowerShell commands. For example, displaying outbound firewall rules in PowerShell uses the following syntax... Totally different.

gregmac 7y ago
Yeah, unless I'm missing something, "automation" seems to be a misnomer. I was looking at it thinking along the lines of something like Autoit, Puppet or Ansible, which just made me confused reading the docs. Calling it a "simplified administration shell" or "logically organised cli shortcuts" would be closer to what it really is, I think.

sitzkrieg 7y ago

neat project, but awful landing page. dont force technical users to immediately click about to get a remote clue what it's really about

majkinetor 7y ago

tldr: Bunch of syntax sugars. No automation at all.

easyigloo 7y ago
Syntax sugars are definitely a part of the app, but it does a lot more than simple 1:1 aliases. I used it to back up the running configs of around 400 Cisco devices last week. Thanks for your feedback in any case.

t0astbread 7y ago

Looks sleek! I'd definitely use it if I were still on Windows.

mrtweetyhack 7y ago

yawn

WhiteOwlLion 7y ago

This wasn't that well received by sysadmin's on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/bvrlh6/i_created_a_free_application_that_has_some_useful/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/bvrlh6/i_created_...