3 ms·

Command line tools are cool for me. I just need better documentation on the behavior of the CLIs and exactly what they do without having to dive into the source

by _lvbh 2y ago

Command line tools are cool for me. I just need better documentation on the behavior of the CLIs and exactly what they do without having to dive into the source code. One reason I’ve held off is because I’m not familiar with C++. Hoping to fix that over the summer

ninetyninenine 2y ago
being cool isn't the key point. The fact that you need better documentation is the problem. Did I ever read a manual or look up docs for MacOS, windows, iOS, or android? No. That's what's missing from open source. Well it's not missing, but it's like the lowest priority such that it takes a looong time for something that's open source to approach this level of user friendliness.
- shakow 2y ago
  You're comparing a user-facing GUI to a system administration tool. Just like I don't expect Jack from accounting to read a doc to launch Chrome from Gnome, I would expect James from IT to read docs before setting up the Oracle Linux LDAP server or the IIS + SQL Server stack.
  - ninetyninenine 2y ago
    And that's what is stopping NixOS from ever being main stream. It will always occupy this obscure corner of OS's that basically nobody uses.
    - shakow 2y ago
      I don't think that NixOS as a main stream OS makes sense. I personally use it because I'm a nerd, but I would not recommend to my sister anymore than RHEL or Oracle Linux. However, to efficiently administrate an heterogeneous server fleet, I have not found better yet.
      - ninetyninenine 2y ago
        It does make sense. The key thing with nixos is one config for all OS installations. This makes sense for casual users, and also for mid-tier users and developers who want a really good OS but not the technical baggage that hinders development. Right now NixOS is mostly used by devs who don't mind doubling development time because that's the extra time it takes to learn and deal with Nixos. This makes sense for everybody: An OS with the power of NixOS and ease of use of MacOS or Windows or Ubuntu.
- pxc 2y ago
  > Did I ever read a manual or look up docs for MacOS, windows, iOS, or android? > No. That's what's missing from open source. Sounds like a you thing. I consult macOS manpages routinely. Having been away from Windows for a long time, I consult MS docs on Windows and PowerShell pretty much every time I touch Windows. Aside from all that... if you're too good to read a manual, you're too good for Nix; do everyone a favor and move on. Nix has lots of real UX issues to fix but trying to onboard or entice users whose expectation is to read nothing and learn nothing would just be a harmful mistake.

by _lvbh 2y ago

ninetyninenine 2y ago

being cool isn't the key point. The fact that you need better documentation is the problem. Did I ever read a manual or look up docs for MacOS, windows, iOS, or android? No. That's what's missing from open source. Well it's not missing, but it's like the lowest priority such that it takes a looong time for something that's open source to approach this level of user friendliness.

shakow 2y ago
You're comparing a user-facing GUI to a system administration tool. Just like I don't expect Jack from accounting to read a doc to launch Chrome from Gnome, I would expect James from IT to read docs before setting up the Oracle Linux LDAP server or the IIS + SQL Server stack.
- ninetyninenine 2y ago
  And that's what is stopping NixOS from ever being main stream. It will always occupy this obscure corner of OS's that basically nobody uses.
  - shakow 2y ago
    I don't think that NixOS as a main stream OS makes sense. I personally use it because I'm a nerd, but I would not recommend to my sister anymore than RHEL or Oracle Linux. However, to efficiently administrate an heterogeneous server fleet, I have not found better yet.
    - ninetyninenine 2y ago
      It does make sense. The key thing with nixos is one config for all OS installations. This makes sense for casual users, and also for mid-tier users and developers who want a really good OS but not the technical baggage that hinders development. Right now NixOS is mostly used by devs who don't mind doubling development time because that's the extra time it takes to learn and deal with Nixos. This makes sense for everybody: An OS with the power of NixOS and ease of use of MacOS or Windows or Ubuntu.
pxc 2y ago
> Did I ever read a manual or look up docs for MacOS, windows, iOS, or android? > No. That's what's missing from open source. Sounds like a you thing. I consult macOS manpages routinely. Having been away from Windows for a long time, I consult MS docs on Windows and PowerShell pretty much every time I touch Windows. Aside from all that... if you're too good to read a manual, you're too good for Nix; do everyone a favor and move on. Nix has lots of real UX issues to fix but trying to onboard or entice users whose expectation is to read nothing and learn nothing would just be a harmful mistake.