metashell - User Friendly Shell

[Justin Wray]

Forest:

On 1/29/08, Forest Bond <forest at alittletooquiet.net> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> On Mon, Jan 28, 2008 at 10:38:11PM -0500, Justin Wray wrote:
> > Exacly, there are plenty of ways to determine a mime-type, and plenty of
> other
> > ways to open a file in a default application.  But I think everyone is
> missing
> > the point.  I'll break it down, these functionalities are not built into
> the
> > shell and require package X, and setting X, to work, something a "new"
> user
> > may not know about, or better yet even have installed and configured.
>
> Any decent Linux distribution ought to update mailcap automatically when
> new
> programs are installed.  Debian and Ubuntu do.
>
> Further, your argument that people should install metashell seems to be
> based on
> the assumption that installing metashell is easier than installing
> mime-support.
> Is that the case?


That isn't the point.  metashell is another alternative.  It is just as easy
to install metashell as any other Linux application (in theory -- which
becomes ever so true if it is packaged or distributed within the
distribution in question).

> The point of all of my comments is this:  metashell is not a project with
> a
> > goal simply to "open" files.  It is a project with the ideas of creating
> a
> > user-friendly command-line environment.  That uses intuitive commands
> (or lack
> > there of) to complete tasks.  While all at the same time allowing the
> > well-versed *nix admins complete complex tasks without hesitating.  I
> really
> > hope after reading this email, everyone better understand the goals of
> > metashell, and the diffrence of usings it verses an external application
> like
> > 'see'.
>
> Does metashell currently support features other than opening files based
> on MIME
> type?  If not, it is a "see" competitor trapped in a shell's body, and it
> thus
> makes sense to compare metashell to "see".


Yes, metashell acts a full supported shell, with many shell features,
including tab-completion, aliases, and much more.  Also remember that
metashell is only in beta, and therefore there are plenty of ideas yet
implemented.  If you must compare metashell to another project, it would be
safer to compare it to fish, as it is an attempt to make the CLI an easier,
friendlier place for new-comers to Linux.

Do you have other ideas, of features that could be of use to a new-user,
helping ease the experience, and allow them to learn at the same time?

Nothing is wrong with simply using bash and then
see/edit/gnome-open/xdg-open/insert-mime-handling-application, nor is there
anything wrong with using metashell.

-Forest
> --
> Forest Bond
> http://www.alittletooquiet.net
>
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-- 
Thanks,

Justin M. Wray
Project Owner

Website:  http://www.themetashell.com
Support:  http://www.themetashell.com/index.php/Help:Contents
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