
Originally Posted by
KrazyKazza
.... By far the most versatile way to express what you want the computer to do is by using an abbreviated language called script.
In script, instead of telling the computer, “list my files, please”, one writes a standard abbreviated command word—‘ls’. Typing ‘ls’ in a command shell is a script way of telling the computer to list your files.
The real flexibility of this approach is apparent only when you realize that there are many, many different ways to list files. Perhaps you want them sorted by name, sorted by date, in reverse order, or grouped by type. Most graphical browsers have simple ways to express this.
But what about showing only a few files, or only files that meet a certain criteria? In very complex and specific situations, the request becomes too difficult to express using a mouse or pointing device. It is just these kinds of requests that are easily solved using a command shell.
The role of a command shell is to give you more control over what your computer does for you.
Not everyone needs this amount of control, and it does come at a cost: Learning the necessary script commands to express what you want done.
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