From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sat Nov 13 16:49:10 2010 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DE918106567A for ; Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:49:10 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from bonomi@mail.r-bonomi.com) Received: from mail.r-bonomi.com (ns2.r-bonomi.com [204.87.227.129]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A9BC88FC0C for ; Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:49:10 +0000 (UTC) Received: (from bonomi@localhost) by mail.r-bonomi.com (8.14.3/rdb1) id oADGl5Dt024567 for freebsd-questions@freebsd.org; Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:47:05 -0600 (CST) Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:47:05 -0600 (CST) From: Robert Bonomi Message-ID: <201011131647.oADGl5Dt024567@mail.r-bonomi.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Tips for installing windows and freeBSD both.. anyone?? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:49:11 -0000 > Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:19:34 -0700 > From: Chad Perrin > Subject: Re: Tips for installing windows and freeBSD both.. anyone?? > > On Tue, Nov 09, 2010 at 06:10:54PM -0800, Rob Farmer wrote: > > On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 16:09, Robert Bonomi wr= > ote: > > > An _individual_ application may allow scripting via an internal command= > language, > > > but since it is internal to the app, and *not* part of the GUI, it does= > n't > > > 'generalize' (no guarantee that similar capability is present in any ot= > her app) > > > *AND* is utterly worthless for 'automating' annything that involves mor= > e than > > > the single app. > >=20 > > The CLI doesn't generalize either. How many ways are there to get > > input into a program? > > You might be surprised by how many different ways of getting data into a > program can be accomplished with a simple Perl idiom like this: > > while (<>) { > } > > It gets pretty generalized in a hurry. > > On the other hand, 99% of GUI apps that handle files have a File > > > Open dialog that is provided via a toolkit and works the same > > everywhere. > > =2E . . and it is shortly after that point that things get very specific, > and non-general. Not to mention the fact that you _cannot_ specify anything _but_ a 'file' as the source of the data to be handled. Want to read it from a mag tape? Can't do it. Want to read directly from a serial port? =Can't= do it. Want to read directly from the keyboard? *Can't* do it. Want to get the input directly from another program, _without_ using an intermediate file? CANT' do it. The GUI "open" dialog doesn't allow for that kind of flexibility. In a pure GUI environment, if there =isn't= an _existing_ button/menu-item/ selection-list action for it, you _cannot_ do the operation. This is, not incidentally, why _pure_ GUI environments have gone the way of the dodo bird, except for some fixed-scope production uses. EVERYBODY _today_ realizes a GUI _alone_ is 'inadequate' for 'general purpose' use, and proivdes -- at a mnimum, an escape to a command-line, where you can do 'anything'. e.g. the MS Windows "run" item on the start menu.