anyone actually use terminal/unix for anything?

[cube]

with the beauty and simplicity of the aqua interface, why would anyone bother using unix?

OSX is a Unix. Every OSX user is using Unix.

 

[crackpip]

I use the command line all the time. In fact, my biggest complaint is that there is only a limited number of terminal windows that can be used--even at the maximum settings. I would really like to have about 200 terminal windows open, but somewhere around 50 they stop working.

I would also like a lot more user processes. The current ~2K/system and ~512/user is way too low. I can't even log on as myself remotely because of the ridiculously low limits so I have to set up a second ID for remote access. The limits should be something reasonable like 20K/system 10K/user and a few hundred psudo terminals.

The GUI is good for many applications, but the command line is just as important.

Your limit on terminals must be because of the other processes you have going, because I can load 100 terminal windows without a problem, but I only have about 300 processes going simultaneously.

Also, in the man pages the first and second numbers are the soft and hard limits per user, not user and system. I am unable to get a definition of what the difference is between the soft and hard limits, but I am able to set the soft limit above 512, say to 2048. This soft limit will be ultimately limit the number of processes you can have going simultaneously.

crackpip

 

[Eric5h5]

with the beauty and simplicity of the aqua interface, why would anyone bother using unix?

'Cause the command line is much faster and easier and more powerful for some things. If I've got thousands of frames of animation rendered to a folder, for example, using a GUI becomes horribly slow. Much faster just to type mv or rm or cp, depending on want I want to do. It's trivial to manipulate hundreds of files that way, instead of scrolling through endless lists.

That's one reason I used an Amiga so long, because the GUI and CLI were so thoroughly integrated. OS X isn't as good that way, but it beats the pants off OS 9, with its lack of any CLI at all.

--Eric

 

[Baron58]

The fact OS X is a UNIX like OS is the reason I use it, if it wasn't I wouldn't use the OS at all.

Absolutely. I've used Mac OS since System 6 (with the 'MultiFinder'!) I abandoned it after 8.5 because it was way behind the times and only returned to it (happily) with 10.2. 10.4.3 is a-l-m-o-s-t everything I could want.

People who diss the unix underpinnings and wonderful tools are blind to 90% of what Mac OS X is all about. What you see in the GUI is NOT AT ALL the full picture or power of the OS - it's just what lets the masses do what little they do.

 

[emotion]

Being a computational scientist I never not have the terminal open. I'm ssh'ing to supercomputers all over America checking on my code. Also writing and modifying code using Emacs. Believe it or not- text based interfaces are still the most powerful tools for many problems. I love OS X because I get the power of unix with the simplicity and beauty of the Aqua interface.

I'm the same, and more or less in the same field (grid-computing).

I can't have a computer without having a command line.

 

[~Shard~]

Terminal is great for cron scripts and ssh.

 

[Josh]

My observation is that the teriminal in OS X has been used primarily to:

1)Open, make it semi-transparent
2)Run 'top' to make it look like something worthwhile is going on
3)Take a screenshot to show Windows users how "l33t" it is.

I really don't have much use for it though. I used it for learning and compiling simple C code, but have recently switched to XCode to do that faster.

 

[satans_banjo]

testing python code and compiling C code really, but i know what you mean about running 'top' to show off that you've got a computer that looks like it's in the movies

another thing to do would be to run Terminal, make the window semi-transparent, make the writing green, run top, have a 3D diagram of an atomic structure behind it (you know the ones i mean) and people will think you're amazingly clever and special. fools

 

[oingoboingo]

testing python code and compiling C code really, but i know what you mean about running 'top' to show off that you've got a computer that looks like it's in the movies

another thing to do would be to run Terminal, make the window semi-transparent, make the writing green, run top, have a 3D diagram of an atomic structure behind it (you know the ones i mean) and people will think you're amazingly clever and special. fools

I know what you mean. The delivery address for my G5 PowerMac was my work address. When it arrived, I unpacked it at my desk and set it up (couldn't wait until I got home). Changing the screensaver ('Flurry') so that it ran as the desktop wallpaper, and then layering up the place with transparent Terminal.app windows got all the local Linux jockeys very hot and bothered. The only thing that stopped them drooling over the keyboard were the guys from the industrial design department coming down to admire the way the aluminium panels in the G5 had been shaped.

 

[strydr]

I use the command line all the time. In fact, my biggest complaint is that there is only a limited number of terminal windows that can be used--even at the maximum settings. I would really like to have about 200 terminal windows open, but somewhere around 50 they stop working.

I love the terminal. I use it for all kinds of things, mostly tinkering "under the Hood", so to speak. I do use it for SSH, and telnet, along with a plethera of other tools.

I wonder about the window limit. On my PB, I could only get 25 terminal windows open. On # 26, it closed the process (logged out) on that window. Wish I could figure this out..

 

[tag]

I wonder about the window limit. On my PB, I could only get 25 terminal windows open. On # 26, it closed the process (logged out) on that window. Wish I could figure this out..

Ok am I missing something here? 25 - 200 terminal windows? I'm really trying to figure why anyone would be needing that many or even able to sort and use that many. I thought I used alot when I had like 5 open to various servers and like 3 open for local. I would so lose track if there were more going on than that I think.

Of course I can picture it now...... two 30 inch displays each displaying dozens of tiny terminals/

 

[strydr]

Ok am I missing something here? 25 - 200 terminal windows? I'm really trying to figure why anyone would be needing that many or even able to sort and use that many. I thought I used alot when I had like 5 open to various servers and like 3 open for local. I would so lose track if there were more going on than that I think.

Of course I can picture it now...... two 30 inch displays each displaying dozens of tiny terminals/

I'm working on a project that requires me to ping several machines (like 50-100), while telnetting to AP's.

 

[Kobushi]

One of my students uses ssh to log into JPL and control the Mar's rovers with his iBook. I'd say that's pretty useful.

 

[belvdr]

I'm working on a project that requires me to ping several machines (like 50-100), while telnetting to AP's.

You need one terminal window for those pings. Simply nohup the pings and put them into the background.

 

[belvdr]

Ok am I missing something here? 25 - 200 terminal windows? I'm really trying to figure why anyone would be needing that many or even able to sort and use that many. I thought I used alot when I had like 5 open to various servers and like 3 open for local. I would so lose track if there were more going on than that I think.

Of course I can picture it now...... two 30 inch displays each displaying dozens of tiny terminals/

The only people who have that many windows open are those who don't know how to use a few sessions to achieve the same thing. There's no way anyone can use that many sessions interactively.

 

[alexstein]

I only use terminal for some maintenance and sometimes to play tetris but that is about it.

Are there any good books that explain how to use the terminal (in understandable words!). Excuse my ignorance on this matter. I switched about a year ago and I'm still far away from fully understanding OSX.

 

[opusthe2nd]

CLI - w00t!

I manage a few servers from OS X, ftp everything from terminal, ssh, scp.

I come from FreeBSD-land, I dont know how to use much GUI stuff, but I am learning.

If it didnt have BSD as a base, I would not use it.

 

[belvdr]

I only use terminal for some maintenance and sometimes to play tetris but that is about it.

Are there any good books that explain how to use the terminal (in understandable words!). Excuse my ignorance on this matter. I switched about a year ago and I'm still far away from fully understanding OSX.

I'd start with the man pages. Wonder around /usr/bin and /usr/sbin and see what is in there. Just be carefule about running anything that you are not totally sure what it does.

To do what I stated above, open Terminal, and:

cd /usr/bin <-- change to /usr/bin directory
ls | more <-- list the contents and pipe into more, so you can page through

to get a man page for an executable, such as tr, type:

man tr

 

[plinden]

I don't use Terminal, but only because I don't have a Mac yet.

On my PC, about 80% of my time is spent using cygwin, a unix-like shell. The Windows cmd/MSDOS prompt is unusable. The only thing I don't like about cygwin is that I haven't found a gvim integrated with it so have to shift to Windows for the remaining 20% of my time.

One of the things I like about MacOSX is that it's unix and has an integrated unix shell so I could do my command line work seamlessly.

 

[tag]

I'd start with the man pages. Wonder around /usr/bin and /usr/sbin and see what is in there. Just be carefule about running anything that you are not totally sure what it does.

To do what I stated above, open Terminal, and:

cd /usr/bin <-- change to /usr/bin directory
ls | more <-- list the contents and pipe into more, so you can page through

to get a man page for an executable, such as tr, type:

man tr

And after you are done all that hard work sit back, relax, and have a cold one...

$> cd /pub
$> more beer

 

[dogbone]

Terminal enables the ordinary user to be able to feel geeky.

 

[belvdr]

I don't use Terminal, but only because I don't have a Mac yet.

On my PC, about 80% of my time is spent using cygwin, a unix-like shell. The Windows cmd/MSDOS prompt is unusable. The only thing I don't like about cygwin is that I haven't found a gvim integrated with it so have to shift to Windows for the remaining 20% of my time.

One of the things I like about MacOSX is that it's unix and has an integrated unix shell so I could do my command line work seamlessly.

What's wrong with vi or vim?

 

[plinden]

What's wrong with vi or vim?

No syntax highlighting or mouse input with vi or vim.

On my Linux and Unix servers, I have native gvim so I'm used to it now. I could use emacs but can't be bothered learning it.

 

[Bear]

I use the command line all the time. In fact, my biggest complaint is that there is only a limited number of terminal windows that can be used--even at the maximum settings. I would really like to have about 200 terminal windows open, but somewhere around 50 they stop working.

I would also like a lot more user processes. The current ~2K/system and ~512/user is way too low.
...

Ever think of changing kernel parameters?
You can use sysctl to read and set the parameters. You can also create /etc/sysctl.conf which is read at boot time.

Use "sysctl kern" to list kernel type paramters. For network paraneters, you would use "sysctl net".

Of course there is always the sysctl man page.

 

[belvdr]

No syntax highlighting or mouse input with vi or vim.

On my Linux and Unix servers, I have native gvim so I'm used to it now. I could use emacs but can't be bothered learning it.

My thought is to stick with vi. It's on every Unix server I come across, so I'm never lost when it comes to editing a file on any Unix machine. So even running across telnet or ssh is not a problem.

And why do you need a mouse input? If that's required, I'd go for a full-featured editor, like jEdit. It's cross platform too.