Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!tank!nic.MR.NET!shamash!nis!com50!pai!erc
From: erc@pai.UUCP (Eric Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Finder proposal: CLI's (long)
Summary: HyperCard has a Command Line Message Box
Message-ID: <296@pai.UUCP>
Date: 28 Nov 88 15:11:59 GMT
References: <928@dogie.edu> <1679@pur-phy>
Distribution: na
Organization: Prime Automation, Inc., Burnsville, MN
Lines: 84

In article <1679@pur-phy>, sho@pur-phy (Sho Kuwamoto) writes:
> In article <928@dogie.edu> terranova@vms.macc.wisc.edu (John Terranova) writes
> <In article <2712@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>, mikem@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Mike Morton) writes...
> <
> <<As long as we're helping Apple redesign the Finder, I have a request:
> << 
> <So do I.  I love the Mac interface.  Honest, I do.  But, much as I hate
> <to admit it, it is not perfect.  
> <Sometimes a command line is preferable.  I
> <would like a single command line window in the Finder.  
> <The window could function not too
> <dissimilarly from the UNIX csh.
> <
> <It would come with standard commands (ls, cp, mv, more, jobs, ...).
> <People can write their own routines that can be called from it with the
> <same type of parameters as normal UNIX programs.
> <
> <Can you say "The Best of Both Worlds?"  OK, how much flame am I going
> <to get now?
> 
> None, at least from this end.  I agree, to some extent.  An obvious
> starting point would be the MPW shell.  

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't HyperCard have a command-line
message box?  This seems to me to be a more natural starting point.
The box is smaller (1 line), acts as a window on the Mac desktop and
would seem to fit more in line with the Mac way of doing things.

A natural extension of HyperCard would be to eventually make the
Finder a part of HyperCard, i.e., a user-configurable interface.
Look at all the Finder "shells" that people write in HyperCard.
I'm sure Apple has also looked at them.  People want a method of
configuring the Mac interface, e.g., adding help screens, linking
options, etc. I have a feeling that in three years, the Finder will
be a HyperCard stack.  Anyone at Apple care to confirm or deny?


> This sounds like just nitpicking, but let me put the situation this
> way.  I would greatly appreciate having a command line interface to
> the Finder.  

So would I.  The Mac Finder style of interface is great for pointing,
clicking, et. al., but it breaks down in selecting.  In the Finder,
I can select a rectangular area of icons, one icon or all the
icons in a window.  The system breaks down, though, if I want to
select all the .c files, for example.  Unless I spend a good deal
of time arranging all the .c files (as opposed to the .h, .txt, etc. files)
into rectangles, I have trouble copying some items to back them up.

Unfortunately, this is one area where MS-DOS beats the Mac (COPY
*.C TARGET), as does Unix (cp *.c target).  On the Mac, it is hard
to select all the .c files in one swoop.  Thus, there is a good use
for a command line interpreter.

On the other hand, I do NOT prefer MS-DOS to the Mac Finder interface.
I just want some of the good features of a CLI interface to go along
with the great features on the Mac.  Note that the Amiga appears
to use a windowing system (I think they call it Intuition) and have
CLI windows on the Amiga "desktop". (No flames please, I own a Mac,
NOT an Amiga and I don't want to get into a religious conflict. I see
nothing wrong in recognizing good features of other machines.)


> Maybe stick the CLI in a floating palette, like the
> message box in Hypercard.

I agree. Or maybe put it in a normal window, a window that follows
all the Mac standards.

> I'm a big believer in CLI's.  In a lot of situations, it's easier to
> use for the experienced user than a visual interface.  

> -Sho

Just my $0.02

-Eric


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