Wrox would like to know more about how readers feel about the Windows command line. Do you use it more often than the GUI, or do you think it is best left hidden in today's modern Windows systems?

If you use it, we would like to know more about what you are doing on the command line, and if you use a reference for commands, or just work from memory.

Please post your comments and feedback. A Wrox reader will be selected from the posts at random and receive a free Wrox book.

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Chris Webb,
Executive Editor

I use the command line (or Run... ) from time to time, though not nearly as much as the GUI. I'm a developer and use it for such things as registering/unregistering dll's and controls. I'll use a command window for such things as bulk copies (copy xyz* ... is way easier than selecting files via the GUI) or for the occasional batch file I may write.

I mostly work from memory, occasionally using the /? switch if I forget something.

I would never want to see the command line/window disappear. Ever. It's OK for it to be tucked away somewhere, as long as I can get to it reasonably quickly. I've installed the 'Command prompt here' power toy, so the command window is just a right click away when I need it. Very handy sometimes, especially in these days of looooonnnng path names...


Jeff Mason
Custom Apps, Inc.
www.custom-apps.com

On the whole, I use the GUI. However, I use the command line for doing java code without an IDE (as recommended by Ivor Horton in "Beginning Java 2" and other adhoc tasks such as outputting the contents of a folder to a file, checking my Path, checking file attributes, running regedit, changing file extensions. I also run some unix-like utilities at the command line such as grep as windows does still not have anything as good.

Gill BC

There are times when the command line just can't be beat. Often it does things much faster than the GUI. For example - clearing the IE cache - while that takes about 3 hours using the GUI, and often causes explorer.exe to crash (even if it's empty!), the cmd line does it easily.
Then there's a few other things which I prefer to do via cmd line - such as ftp - although I'm not saying here that it's any better than any of the ftp programs around.

Also, my work uses Novell, which means that I am supposed to log in each time - but by having TweakUI log me into windows automatically, that bypasses one login step - then I use the "net use " command (through an autoexec batch file) to log in to the Novell servers (a command I've well remembered)
Although it is rather annoying that it doesn't work in Win98, which is what some of the computers at my work have.

But the main reason I use the command line is not so much for Windows purposes, but for shelling to another OS (eg UNIX), whether it be ftp or telnet, or if I boot with Linux to change Windows accounts that I've forgotten the passwords for (a lovely little trick that Microshaft are yet to disable)

I am a loud man with a very large hat. This means I am in charge

It's been about 4 years since I have worked directly with the windows command line. I had almost forgotten about it until I read this post. I do used autoexec files, and I still use some batch processing, but haven't touched the command line in years.

Robert J. Taylor

I only use cmd when the OS just don't understand my problem (surgest me to join a newsgroup or something).

Regards - Jon

Are you refering to the command window?

Vince

This question depends entirely upon what type of work I'm performing on a PC. During the day I'm a Net Admin and I'm constantly using the command line to perform tasks. Telnet, FTP, PING, TRACERT, NETSTAT, NET VIEW, NET USE, NSLOOKUP, IPCONFIG are but a few of the utilities that are commonly used by Network Engineers and Admins. Batch files are also used quite often from the command line.

However when I'm at the house I rarely use the command line because I'm just surfing the net, emailing people, and writing documents. There's no need for the command line for that type of work.

I would also like to add that using the DOS Shell is somewhat painful after using BASH on Unix or Linux. Having to navigate long paths in a DOS shell can be torture. BASH is always so simple, just type the first few letters of the directory name and hit the tab key and the auto fill-in guesses the directory name for you.

Windows command line... well one day Bill Gates might get rid of it. But I see it as a very useful little tool, especially when running batch files to compile applications. Another useful feature I use it for is to run common window applications such as regedit, msconfig, run etc.

I think it will be here to stay because lets face it, undeneath all the fancy graphics of modern computer appliactions there is the code... written in words and numbers not done by graphics believe it or not! And the command line is word driven.

I think it would be a great mistake to kill the command line because to replace it the command would have to be done graphically! Could be confusing for some people.

I use the command line both ways, i use memory for the old dos based ones, and sometimes refernce (cut and paste). Finally I would like to say I don't use it as often as i used to when i was using windows 3.11 or dos. Technology moves, the command line won't!

I use the command line all the time. Part of my job role involves Network Administration. There are plenty of times when I need to run utilities, commands or simply access information that the currently logged on user does not have permissions to do. I therefore use the runas command all the time to run a program directly or to generate an Internet Explorer window which uses my credentials this can be used to navigate through the machine or network and open as many programs or files as I need without ever logging off the user.

I like using the command line. Just like I enjoy writing all my web pages and apps by hand without using GUI or WYSIWYG tools. But in reality in many cases these tools allow us to complete tasks faster due to our ability to scan large amounts of information at any one time; a skill that command line utilities don't often give you the chance to use.

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:) James Sellwood :)
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