command line interface
<operating system> A means of communication between a program and its
user, based solely on textual input and output. Commands are input with the help
of a keyboard or similar device and are interpreted and executed by the program.
Results are output as text or graphics to the terminal.
Command line interfaces usually provide greater flexibility than graphical user
interfaces, at the cost of being harder for the novice to use. Consequently,
some hackers look down on GUIs as designed For The Rest Of Them.
(1996-01-12)
Nearby terms:
Command Control Processor « command interpreter «
command key « command line interface »
command-line interpreter » command line option »
comma separated values
command-line interpreter
command interpreter
Nearby terms:
command interpreter « command key « command line
interface «
command-line interpreter » command line option »
comma separated values » COMMEN
command line option
<software> (Or "option", "flag", "switch", "option switch") An argument
to a command that modifies its function rather than providing data. Options
generally start with "-" in Unix or "/" in MS-DOS. This is usually followed by a
single letter or occasionally a digit.
Some commands require each option to be a separate argument, introduced by a new
"-" or "/", others allow multiple option letters to be concatenated into a
single argument with a single "-" or "/", e.g. "ls -al". A few Unix commands
(e.g. ar, tar) allow the "-" to be omitted. Some options may or must be followed
by a value, e.g. "cc prog.c -o prog", sometimes with and sometimes without an
intervening space.
getopt and getopts are commands for parsing command line options. There is also
a C library routine called getopt for the same purpose.
(1996-12-11)
Nearby terms:
command key « command line interface « command-line
interpreter « command line option » comma
separated values » COMMEN » comment
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