CLI designers: “Here are the commands and arguments in a txt file, they’ll only change when absolutely necessary and we’ll be sure to inform you both in the docs and as a warning in the CLI itself.”
GUI designers: “go fuck yourself and re-learn where we hid all the buttons this time, after waiting for our two second fly-in animation for every submenu of course. Don’t worry though, here’s a condescending popup tour that only shows you the most basic features you could already see with your eyes. If you’re still confused, here’s an AI chatbot that will just repeat the contents of the popup tour and then act like you’re an idiot. Hey, HEY! STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING THIS INSTANT AND READ ABOUT OUR NEW BUZZWORD FEATURE YOU NEVER ASKED FOR! TRY IT NOW AND THEN WE’LL LET YOU GO BACK! Also we’re keylogging you and recording your mouse movements as “analytics” for “”“improving””" our UI (even though it’s only getting worse with each new version), you understand. "
CLI: Welcome back my friend, forgot a command or argument? Just type --help and read the super terse and bullshit free txt file in less time it takes for the GUI startup animations to finish. Too long? Type | grep to directly search for it in less time than it takes for the search button to expand and let you start typing!
GUI: Ooh a GPU and gigabytes of VRAM just for my animations? You shouldn’t have! Ooh you mouseovered something for one millisecond while moving it to the actual thing you want? Let me lag the entire window and cover up the thing you wanted with this popup that takes longer to disappear the more irrelevant it is! Also none of the text is selectable so you can’t copy from it even if you did need it (Visual Studio static analysis messages I’m looking at you).
CLI designers: “Here are the commands and arguments in a txt file, they’ll only change when absolutely necessary and we’ll be sure to inform you both in the docs and as a warning in the CLI itself.”
GUI designers: “go fuck yourself and re-learn where we hid all the buttons this time, after waiting for our two second fly-in animation for every submenu of course. Don’t worry though, here’s a condescending popup tour that only shows you the most basic features you could already see with your eyes. If you’re still confused, here’s an AI chatbot that will just repeat the contents of the popup tour and then act like you’re an idiot. Hey, HEY! STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING THIS INSTANT AND READ ABOUT OUR NEW BUZZWORD FEATURE YOU NEVER ASKED FOR! TRY IT NOW AND THEN WE’LL LET YOU GO BACK! Also we’re keylogging you and recording your mouse movements as “analytics” for “”“improving””" our UI (even though it’s only getting worse with each new version), you understand. "
That’s an excellent description of Microsoft Office after 2007.
dark patterns go brr
CLI: Here’s a txt file, now memorize it you peasant
Good GUI: Welcome back my friend, straight the thing again? Btw on the right you can see some relevant info and links.
I see that you don’t use a shell with completions.
I do actually and I also prefer CLI, just wanted add a bit of nuance to the discussion.
CLI: Welcome back my friend, forgot a command or argument? Just type --help and read the super terse and bullshit free txt file in less time it takes for the GUI startup animations to finish. Too long? Type | grep to directly search for it in less time than it takes for the search button to expand and let you start typing!
GUI: Ooh a GPU and gigabytes of VRAM just for my animations? You shouldn’t have! Ooh you mouseovered something for one millisecond while moving it to the actual thing you want? Let me lag the entire window and cover up the thing you wanted with this popup that takes longer to disappear the more irrelevant it is! Also none of the text is selectable so you can’t copy from it even if you did need it (Visual Studio static analysis messages I’m looking at you).
yeah good GUIs are really important for people who use a lot of programs lol.
I can’t remember everything at once, I’ve got better things to do