I know the Mac terminal is a fully functional bash shell, but the Mac OS is not fully accessible from bash. There are many things which are proprietary and not available from the underlying OS, which bash interacts with.
So, let's say you installed some program like Final Cut Pro. I think the way you install this is you grab one big huge icon from the DVD folder, and you drag it to the place on the hard drive where you want that icon to sit. Behind the scenes, your Mac is doing 1000's of things - placing files, and configuring stuff, just a whole bunch of stuff that should be in some kind of functional component called a setup routine, not masked behind a drag and drop action that normally means something else. >From the command-line if you copy this special file to the hard drive, it copies a file, from the Finder, you get the overridden activity which is to run the setup routine. The graphical experience here is completely broken from the standpoint of having a consistent UI. In some cases, dragging a file to disk copies a file, in some cases it runs an install routine. Last I checked the Mac didn't have a package management system such as the DPKG or RPM databases give you on Linux. Can you run a command-line command and see which packages are installed and where? Can you uninstall a package from the command-line? (Note, similar gripe about lack of command-line support with the Windows "Add/Remove Programs" control panel, but it least it is the single authoritative place where you can see what has been installed or command it to remove an application.) Linux may be ugly, but you know when you are running apt, that you are running 'a' 'p'ackage' 't'ool, and when running mv, you are moving a file. Little things like this help increase the amount of stuff I get done, second by second, minute by minute, every day. Michael Gorman wrote: > I'm wondering what issues you have experience not being able to get > done via the terminal? It is a fully functional bash shell after all. > Install Xcode and you've got gcc, and ports works just like apt. > > I hear all the automator stuff and apple script is useful too, but i > haven't dabbled in it since i got my Macbook Pro in June. > > > On Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 11:13 AM, David Kaiser <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > I agree - they are all good for different needs. I just don't > personally have any needs that Mac OS X fills. I can accomplish a lot > more on a Windows box. > > The few small things that are done better on Mac than on Linux, I just > don't have a need for. Maybe some day, I'll have different hobbies and > different style of work, or whatever, and the Mac will be "Teh Cats > Meow" for what I'm trying to do, but at this point it's kind of a > toy or > novelty at best. > > For my style of work, the Mac system is too dumbed-down, and makes it > incredibly hard to do things efficiently. There are so many > things that > cannot be done via the command line. Basically the entire Finder and > U/I stuff is some proprietary system. I just can't accept that for > something that I rely on. (Yes, Windows has the same issue, but it is > easier to get around it and exploit it IMHO) > > Again, just my opinion, others may make their livelihood only by using > Mac OSX, and they just have different tasks or enjoy doing them > different ways than I do. > > > > Roger E. Rustad, Jr. wrote: > > Dante Lanznaster wrote: > > > >> well I'd pay 3 times for a windows machine instead of getting > anywhere > >> near an apple. Heck, I'd still use windows ME instead of an apple. > >> > >> there is no comparison. > >> > > > > Lemme guess, Dante, You'd also rather push a Chevy than drive a > Ford (or > > was it vise versa?). > > > > Am I the only one here who still uses all four -- NT, OS X, > UNIX, Linux > > -- for different purposes/environments? > > > > I find them all good in various niches and, frankly, that's why > I have > > at least one of each for work and/or testing. > > > > But hey, if your only tool is a hammer, every problem is a > nail....right? > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > LinuxUsers mailing list > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > http://socallinux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxusers > > > _______________________________________________ > LinuxUsers mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > http://socallinux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxusers > > > > > -- > Michael Gorman > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > LinuxUsers mailing list > [email protected] > http://socallinux.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linuxusers >
