> That issue isn't solved by UIs, though. Things are constantly moving/changing colors/disappearing. That's why so many UI "redesigns" get so much hate, breaking user's mental models, etc.
I agree. What is ideal for most people is a system to explain what are the choices available. In case of command lines often help commands I believe are meant for this.
…However, GUIs (like the settings app in Windows, Android, iOS and even Linux IIRC) are much better at explicitly showing the hierarchy. For example on android, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both in the section of wireless radios, but different from the section of a factory reset. Adding a Bluetooth devices requires navigating via submenus.
While that may sound inefficient (and it is when you’re doing the same thing 10 times a day), it’s excellent for breaking down a hundred settings into easily understandable ones. Listing -help often causes this issue - important arguments or options or commands are mixed with ones that are hardly used and not related.
And the thing is, all this is entirely a design thing. One could make a friendly CLI with submenus as options, with warnings that go beyond the basic “do as I say”, like the “are you sure you want to delete this user” thing.
I will still mention that using red colors and orange exclamations and Skeuomorphic icons helps - a picture speaks a thousand words, and the battery emoji takes much less space than 7 letters - but unfortunately in my experience CLIs are about as informative for discovery as the Sahara. I can open any GUI settings app and learn all that is possible in an hour, while understanding relations and context. Display scaling is related to font size, and wallpapers to personalisation.
It’s definitely possible to have a nicer CLI where such relations are obvious/clear. But I haven’t found anything yet, unfortunately.
(Edit: I realised I didn’t respond to your full comment, it’s almost midnight here so I’ll try and reply tomorrow)
> It’s definitely possible to have a nicer CLI where such relations are obvious/clear. But I haven’t found anything yet, unfortunately.
As per my previous comment, I suggest you more fully leverage the concepts of bookmarks, and (script) libraries.
You can have some very simple "graphical" aids on top - your console must live in a window somewhere, and you probably want to be able to tile them. You probably want to be able to quickly reach for a couple (common) digital knobs.
However, just like you haven't found a "nicer CLI", finding this "nicer GUI" is difficult and rare experience.
> That issue isn't solved by UIs, though. Things are constantly moving/changing colors/disappearing. That's why so many UI "redesigns" get so much hate, breaking user's mental models, etc.
I agree. What is ideal for most people is a system to explain what are the choices available. In case of command lines often help commands I believe are meant for this.
…However, GUIs (like the settings app in Windows, Android, iOS and even Linux IIRC) are much better at explicitly showing the hierarchy. For example on android, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both in the section of wireless radios, but different from the section of a factory reset. Adding a Bluetooth devices requires navigating via submenus.
While that may sound inefficient (and it is when you’re doing the same thing 10 times a day), it’s excellent for breaking down a hundred settings into easily understandable ones. Listing -help often causes this issue - important arguments or options or commands are mixed with ones that are hardly used and not related.
And the thing is, all this is entirely a design thing. One could make a friendly CLI with submenus as options, with warnings that go beyond the basic “do as I say”, like the “are you sure you want to delete this user” thing.
I will still mention that using red colors and orange exclamations and Skeuomorphic icons helps - a picture speaks a thousand words, and the battery emoji takes much less space than 7 letters - but unfortunately in my experience CLIs are about as informative for discovery as the Sahara. I can open any GUI settings app and learn all that is possible in an hour, while understanding relations and context. Display scaling is related to font size, and wallpapers to personalisation.
It’s definitely possible to have a nicer CLI where such relations are obvious/clear. But I haven’t found anything yet, unfortunately.
(Edit: I realised I didn’t respond to your full comment, it’s almost midnight here so I’ll try and reply tomorrow)