Re: More newbie queries: paths
Re: More newbie queries: paths
- Subject: Re: More newbie queries: paths
- From: Matthew Stuckwisch <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 23:33:41 -0500
My difficulty does not lie in the fact that unix can do anything, but
that it does it by using one (apparently random) of the umpteen
bucket loads of programs that accompany it. Or via one of the
switches of one of those programs. None of which are known (to me)
nor, may I stress, do they display cute icons by which we can know
them!
(somehow I missed this email the first time around)
set theCommandYouDontKnowWell to "aCommandYouDontKnowWell"
set everythingThereIsToKnow to (do shell script "man " &
theCommandYouDontKnowWell)
display dialog everythingThereIsToKnow
(of course it won't all fit, but you get the idea. Just pop open a
terminal and type in "man"[ual] infront of the command to get a sometimes
overly long instruction manual [man perl literally has a BOOK, all man
perl does is list the table of contents])
There's one big difference between DOS and Unix: Unix is bleeping
powerful,
DOS is not. Both involve a command line, and both are sometimes friggin'
*chimes in* DOS also wasn't really worked on except to get more Windows
stuff hacked in. UNIX has been continually in development since it's
introduction and thus now is much more than DOS ever was or will be.
difficult to get the hang of. What makes it all worthwhile is that once
you
DO get the hang of it, comparing a Unix box to any other box is like
comparing an aircraft carrier to an inner tube. The inner tube may be
easier
to splash about in, but it's nowhere near as powerful when you need to
rename 2,000 files at once or parse a server log.
*recalls the post on wondering how to rename a file while in the process
of moving/copying it*
Unix has all the tools that users of other operating systems pay hundreds
of
dollars for, free, straight out of the box. Examples: vi/emacs, cc/gcc,
sed/awk/perl.
And with a few downloads you can also get stuff like OpenOffice (not yet
for OSX systems though :( ), the GIMP (for OSX now) which reduce the need
for you to buy M$ Office and Adobe Photoshop. Also, many times you'll
find that if you have problems with programs, help is a lot quicker than
with some commercial products (though Apple, surprisingly, is very good
about helping out).
Every day I use my OS 9-running Mac, I find myself wishing for the handy
tools that Unix offers. I, for one, am overjoyed that OS X has married
Unix
with Mac-y goodness. I love my Mac, but I also love power and efficiency.
Eeew, OS9...That's soooo 20th century ;-)
I also welcomed the joining of the two. I never knew UNIX before I went
to OSX and have since found that working together, the two (Mac and UNIX)
can do amazing things.
As to the notion that Unix is hard to learn: Getting used to the command
line, and the general Unix way of doing things is, the rest is not. To be
honest, there's as much or more consistency in the standard suite of Unix
apps as there is on the Macintosh.
It takes time to get used to the way UNIX does things sometimes. It's
really not too much different from learning a new programming language.
Once you've got the basic syntax down, they're really very much the same,
they just do things differently.
I don't quite understand the anti-Unix sentimentality that is present in
so
many Macintosh circles. When I started learning Unix (before which I knew
only the graphical world of the Macintosh), I had an absolute ball.
Suddenly
everything was free, everything was powerful, everything _worked_, and if
you couldn't find what you wanted you built it yourself. Unix is a Good
Thing, and it is your friend.
Well said.
Disclaimer: That was just my opinion, and was not indented to offend,
disgruntle, enrage, or otherwise induce unhappiness.
Not just your opinion, mine (and many others) as well. Adding all the
open source pieces to OSX has interested and bought over many of my former
PC friends, who are know happily using Macs. (this was also thanks to the
Apple Stores, which I suggested they visit to see a good Mac in action
since I live about 5 hours from them :P )
Sorry if that was a bit long,
Not really...My email now kinda doubles that length, eh?
Matthew Stuckwisch
[AIM/MSN]{GuifaSwimmer} | [Yahoo!]{SapphireTree} | [ICQ]{137477701}
[IRC]{guifa / G}(esperNET / irc.massinova.com)
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