start page | rating of books | rating of authors | reviews | copyrights

Book HomeLearning UnixSearch this book

0.3. Interfaces to Unix

Unix can be used as it originally was, on typewriter-like terminals, from a shell prompt on a command line. (See Section P.6.2 later in this chapter.) Most versions of Unix also work with window systems (sometimes called Graphical User Interfaces, or GUIs). These allow each user to have a single screen with multiple windows--including "terminal" windows that act like the original Unix interface. (Chapter 2 explains window system basics.)

Although a window system lets you use Unix without typing text at a shell prompt, we'll spend most of our time on that traditional command-line interface to Unix. Why?

We aren't saying that the command-line interface is right for every situation. For instance, using the Web--with its graphics and links--is usually easier with a GUI web browser. But the command line is the fundamental way to use Unix. Understanding it will let you work on any Unix system, with or without windows.



Library Navigation Links

Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.