On 12/10/2016 10:15 PM, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> On another Linux list, someone asked fpr a GUI to simplify
> using scp ("too easy to make a mistake on the command
> line"), and someone else suggested "fileroller".
>
> I suggested figuring out how to use scp once (examples on
> the web, man pages for more information), then putting an
> example in a shell script. Want a different file? Copy
> the shell script and modify it.
>
> The power of Unix/Linux is that shell scripts can automate
> what you do frequently. You can store your shell scripts
> in your own ~/bin, or share them in /usr/local/bin. Put
> comments in the scripts so you can figure them out the
> next time, or find them with grep if you forgot what you
> named them.
>
> Some tasks, like looking at web pages, are better done
> with a web browser, but for repeated web accesses, even
> that can be automated with wget in a shell script.
>
> GUIs are manual labor. If you want arm exercise, grow a
> garden and get sunshine and vegetables for your efforts.
>
> Keith
>
This is true only to a point. I use the CLI for a variety of tasks
(qemu, screen, vnc, ffmpeg, ssh, package compiles/updates, searches,
etc). However, Humans are visual pattern recognition engines. Thus, I
often wrap my scripts with ncurses or zenity for ease of use - i.e., a GUI.
Often a properly designed GUI is quicker and more intuitive that trying
to remember and track obscure CLI options stuffed into a script
somewhere. Special purpose portable devices are better served with a
GUI wrapped around a Linux/Unix core - or perhaps you would prefer a CLI
smartphone?
Having spent some decades on the CLI, I for one enjoy a good X windows
desktop environment with nice application GUIs for email, IRC, zenmap,
newsgroups, scanning, ebooks, etc.
So while I agree that every computer user should learn the basics of the
command line, I disagree that the CLI is the most efficient method on
all cases. It is the CLI that is manual labor and a good GUI that is
automation.
In conclusion, instead of forcing one's world view onto someone else
when a simple question is asked, perhaps it is better to either just
click through (ignore) or provide a useful answer (help).
Do for those who are curious about GUI ssh/scp/sftp, there are a number
of choices, with varying features and learning curves (in no particular
order):
Gnome Connection Manager
gftp
Filezilla
FireFTP (Firefox extension)
Dolphin (part of KDE)
Krusader
Midnight Commander (CLI and GUI!)
Secpanel
Putty (GUI to configure connection, xterm CLI to transfer)
Most file managers of the major dektop environments support some form of
scp/sftp.
-Ed
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