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CLIs are in the modern world a subset of GUI programs which run inside a text-oriented window, and plenty of more sophisticated GUI programs can be directed tex

CLIs are in the modern world a subset of GUI programs which run inside a text-oriented window, and plenty of more sophisticated GUI programs can be directed textually, with macros or short scripts, and/or have a command-line component for doing that sort of pipe or batch-oriented work. Yeah, sometimes there's functionality stuck behind a button or menu select which I want exposed in a more textual way, in macOS that's when you break out Automator, Alfred, or Hammerspoon (the only one I've ever used fwiw), Linux and Windows have their own equivalents. I don't think the distinction you're pointing to is nearly so stark or clear-cut as it's often made out to be. Ecosystems converge towards the tasks which are amenable to batching and pipelining being equipped to do so.

shadowgovt 3y ago
But in general, batching and pipelining are done via a text-based interface. Extremely rare is the teachable GUI interaface where there's a point-and-click way to describe the concept "See these five items I clicked? Do that twenty-eight more times with this radio button family swizzled via a linear sweep."
- samatman 3y ago
  My point being, I don't see why there ever should be. A text window is a valid and frequently-included part of GUI programs (I happen to be using one this instant, in fact), so there isn't a lot of advantage in replacing something like Lua scripting with a bunch of buttons and whizbangs. It's been tried for normal programming, and no one likes it. The specific kind of task you described is frequently exposed as macros in programs complex enough to deserve it.
  - shadowgovt 3y ago
    > so there isn't a lot of advantage in replacing something like Lua scripting with a bunch of buttons and whizbangs I mean... "no-code development" is an entire category of product offerings. People are positively thirsty for being able to do that sort of thing without having to learn to love staring at giant blobs of text all day.

shadowgovt 3y ago

But in general, batching and pipelining are done via a text-based interface. Extremely rare is the teachable GUI interaface where there's a point-and-click way to describe the concept "See these five items I clicked? Do that twenty-eight more times with this radio button family swizzled via a linear sweep."

samatman 3y ago
My point being, I don't see why there ever should be. A text window is a valid and frequently-included part of GUI programs (I happen to be using one this instant, in fact), so there isn't a lot of advantage in replacing something like Lua scripting with a bunch of buttons and whizbangs. It's been tried for normal programming, and no one likes it. The specific kind of task you described is frequently exposed as macros in programs complex enough to deserve it.
- shadowgovt 3y ago
  > so there isn't a lot of advantage in replacing something like Lua scripting with a bunch of buttons and whizbangs I mean... "no-code development" is an entire category of product offerings. People are positively thirsty for being able to do that sort of thing without having to learn to love staring at giant blobs of text all day.