[NTLUG:Discuss]what to call the command line...

[Darin W. Smith]

On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 14:49:40 -0500, Rick Matthews <k5wls at verizon.net> 
wrote:

> Wayne Dahl wrote:
>>
>> > I presume he means "the Command Line".
>>
>> :)  Yes, that's what I meant.  I might have said cli (command line
>> interface) which is what Cisco calls it, but that might also be arcane
>> if you've never used a Cisco router.  What is the "correct" term in
>> Linux for the command line in a shell?
>
> I think "command line" is probably the correct term; I don't know if
> there is a standard abbreviation.

I think most people would understand CLI.  It's not specific to Cisco.  
Every telecom project I've ever worked, as well as all medical projects and 
almost all defense projects I've worked have referred to the command line 
interface as the "CLI", once or twice as the "CL".

I don't think there is such a thing as a "correct term" specifically for 
Linux, just a "what language does everyone understand.  Rick is right in 
this respect:  spelling it out as "command line" or "command line 
interface" is universally understood (amongst English-speakers, at least).  
I would say a large percentage of users would understand CLI, but they 
would be mainly technical users.

We are reaching a point in our modern world where almost any TLA (three- 
letter-acronym) has 5 or more meanings, depending on the context.  So we 
should probably spell things out when we can.  If you've ever spent any 
time working on NASA, DOD, or FAA stuff, you know that it is possible to 
have technical reports consisting of almost nothing but acronyms and 
articles (a, an, the).  *Very* frustrating to read.  But what do you expect 
from agencies that are known by their acronyms better than by their real 
names?

-- 
D!
Darin W. Smith
AIM: JediGrover
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite 
you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." --Mark 
Twain "Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar"