List of Command Line Tools

[Matt Graham]

After a long battle with technology, Matthew A Coulliette wrote:
> Every once in a while someone mentions that: "they use the command line
> for that", where "that" means almost "anything".  Example: someone just
> mentioned that they use the command line for email.  I was wondering if
> people that use the command line a lot could list a few of the programs
> they use and what they are used for.  Example: Irssi: instant messenger
> for irc channels.

vim : file-based text editing
sed and tr: stream-based text editing
pine : POP/IMAP mail
slrn : Usenet
yum/aptitude/emerge : package management
bc : math
links/lynx : web browsing
find : finding files based on @CRITERIA
xargs : dealing with command lines that don't fit in 32768 chars
cdrecord/growisofs : recording CDs and DVDs
perl/php/ruby : complicated programming tasks that can't be done in bash
gcc/g++ : even more complex programming tasks that can't be done in Perl/PHP
make : managing builds of things that require compilation
cvs/svn : source code control
imagemagick : doing things with graphics (has C/C++/Perl/$FOO bindings)

...the main things that I'd want that don't exist right now on the command 
line are a full-featured web browser (JavaScript, Flash, JPEGs), a PDF 
viewer, and a personal finance program.  (Serious image editing requires a 
pixmapped Display and will always require a pixmapped Display, for reasons 
which should be obvious.)  Flash and the full functionality of PDF are 
impossible to implement fully on the command line.

I do a ton of things on the command line, and always have a konsole or xterm 
open.  I also do a ton of things in various X11 apps, so I'm not the world's 
best reference for command-line stuff.  Caveat user.

-- 
   Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there.
   He wasn't there again today -- I think he's from the CIA.
  My blog: http://crow202.org/wordpress/
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see