What Is It?

The command prompt or terminal is a text interface to your computer. You are likely used to a graphical interface. You point-and-click at icons and menus and that's how you start applications and make things work. A text interface presents you with just a cursor, and you type commands to make things work.

Why Do I Need It?

The command prompt is an essential tool for any computer technologist. It is not a "nice to have" skill. It is a must have skill. As a technology professional, you will be required to use the command prompt. Some things can only be done at the command prompt. Some things are just easier and more efficient at the command prompt.

The GUI you are used to is not the computer and is not the operating system. It is an interface, a layer of convenience placed on top of the operating system to make common and non-technical tasks easier. The GUI is an abstraction of what is going on behind the scenes. It's also important to realize that what you can do in the GUI is only what the makers of the GUI let you do.

The command prompt, by contrast, is closer to the computer and the actual operating system. As such, it's far less constrained and a potentially more powerful way to interact with the operating system. At the command prompt, you decide what is possible, not the makers of the GUI.

Operating System Differences

Each of the three major operating systems will behave differently in the GUI and the command prompt. This is owing to the target market and purpose of the operating system.

• Windows: A relatively insecure, hybrid home and business operating system. The jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none operating system. Windows is proprietary, works on any PC (x86 based) architecture, and is for purchase.
• MacOS: A relatively secure, almost exclusively consumer personal-use operating system that has been adapted to niche creative applications and business applications. The master of it-just-works. macOS is proprietary, deeply integrated to its hardware, and comes bundled with the machine.
• Linux: An inherently and highly secure server and industrial-strength operating system that has been adapted to personal use. The master-of-servers, computer science, and research. Linux is open source, works on many architectures, and is free to use.