Ask HN: Do you use terminal based GUI applications?

1 points by ceronman 7y ago ↗ HN

I'm not referring to the typical CLI application that you call from the command prompt with some arguments and wait for the output. I'm referring to the kind of applications that draw an ascii-like user interface in the terminal. Examples include: vim, top, midnight commander or NetHack.

Is there any of these apps that you use frequently? Is there any particular thing that you like about these interfaces?

2 comments

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gunnarde 7y ago ↗

tmux + vim also screen from time to time

cimmanom 7y ago ↗

The only ones I use you might think of as command line tools. top. Apache’s monitoring tools via Lynx. Etc.

What I like about them is that they’re information-dense and extremely performant; and a bit more discoverable than a CLI. What I dislike about them is that they tend to be poor at surfacing or highlighting important information or providing context. And they’re far less discoverable than a modern GUI.