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Encyclopedia > Command line interpreter
Screenshot of the MS-DOS command line interpreter COMMAND.COM.
Sample screenshot of the command line interpreter Bash.
Sample screenshot of the command line interpreter Bash.
The Windows XP command line interpreter cmd.exe.
The Windows XP command line interpreter cmd.exe.
Screenshot of Windows PowerShell, a .NET-based command line interpreter.
The Windows Recovery Console has its own command line interpreter.
The Windows Recovery Console has its own command line interpreter.

A command line interpreter (also command line shell, command language interpreter) is a computer program that reads lines of text entered by a user and interprets them in the context of a given operating system or programming language. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links MS-DOS_6. ... Image File history File links MS-DOS_6. ... Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... COMMAND.COM is the name for the default operating system shell (or command line interpreter) for DOS and 16/32bits versions of Windows (95/98/98 SE/Me). ... Download high resolution version (709x691, 20 KB)Screenshot of a sample session of bash on Linux. ... Download high resolution version (709x691, 20 KB)Screenshot of a sample session of bash on Linux. ... This article is about the Unix shell. ... Image File history File links Windows_Command_Prompt. ... Image File history File links Windows_Command_Prompt. ... Windows XP is a line of proprietary operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... cmd. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (677x740, 97 KB) Summary Self-made screenshot of PowerShell running on Vista. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (677x740, 97 KB) Summary Self-made screenshot of PowerShell running on Vista. ... Windows PowerShell, previously Microsoft Shell or MSH (codenamed Monad) is an extensible command line interface (CLI) shell and scripting language product developed by Microsoft. ... The Microsoft . ... Image File history File links Windows_2000_Recovery_Console. ... Image File history File links Windows_2000_Recovery_Console. ... The Windows 2000 Recovery Console selection, login, and command prompts. ... In computing, a shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users (command line interpreter). ... A computer program is a collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer. ... An operating system (OS) is a set of computer programs that manage the hardware and software resources of a computer. ... A programming language is an artificial language that can be used to control the behavior of a machine, particularly a computer. ...

Contents

Command interpreters as user interfaces

Command line interpreters allow users to issue various commands in a very efficient (and often terse) way. This requires the user to know the names of the commands and their parameters, and the syntax of the language that is interpreted. From the 1960s onwards, user interaction with computers was primarily by means of command line interfaces. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...


In the 1970s, researchers began to develop graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to provide an alternative user interface for computers, whereby commands were represented by pictorial operations, rather than as textual descriptions. Since they are easier to learn than command line interfaces, they have become the most common way of interacting with a computer. However, command line interpreters remain widely used in conjunction with GUIs. For some complex tasks, the latter are less effective because of the large number of menus and dialog boxes presented and because of the innate difficulty of representing the underlying task graphically. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... A graphical user interface (GUI, often pronounced gooey) is a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer and computer-controlled devices which employ graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called widgets, along with text labels or text navigation to represent the information and...


Scripting

Most command line interpreters support scripting, to various extents. (They are, after all, interpreters of an interpreted programming language, albeit that in many cases the language is unique to the particular command line interpreter.) They will interpret scripts (variously termed shell scripts or batch files) written in the language that they interpret. Some command line interpreters also incorporate the interpreter engines of other languages, such as REXX, in addition to their own, allowing the executing of scripts, in those languages, directly within the command line interpreter itself. This article or section should be merged with script programming language In computer applications, a script, roughly speaking, is a computer program that automates the sort of task that a user might otherwise do interactively at the keyboard. ... A programming language is an artificial language that can be used to control the behavior of a machine, particularly a computer. ... A shell script is a script written for the shell, or command line interpreter, of an operating system. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to Windows commands In MS-DOS, OS/2 and Windows, a batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. ... REXX (REstructured eXtended eXecutor) is an interpreted programming language which was developed at IBM. It is a structured high-level programming language which was designed to be both easy to learn and easy to read. ...


Conversely, scripting programming languages, in particular those with an eval function (such as REXX, Perl, Python, or Jython), can be used to implement command line interpreters. For a few operating systems, most notably DOS, such a command interpreter provides a more flexible command line interface than the one supplied. In other cases, such a command interpreter can present a highly customised user interface employing the user interface and input/output facilities of the language. Scripting programming languages (commonly called scripting languages or script languages) are computer programming languages designed for scripting the operation of a computer. ... In some programming languages, eval is a function which evaluates a string as though it were an expression and returns a result; in others, it executes multiple lines of code as though they had been included instead of the line including the eval. ... In computer science, a subroutine (function, procedure, or subprogram) is a sequence of code which performs a specific task, as part of a larger program, and is grouped as one, or more, statement blocks; such code is sometimes collected into software libraries. ... REXX (REstructured eXtended eXecutor) is an interpreted programming language which was developed at IBM. It is a structured high-level programming language which was designed to be both easy to learn and easy to read. ... Perl is a dynamic programming language created by Larry Wall and first released in 1987. ... Python is a high-level programming language first released by Guido van Rossum in 1991. ... Jython, formerly known as JPython, is an implementation of the Python programming language written in Java. ... An operating system (OS) is a set of computer programs that manage the hardware and software resources of a computer. ... Instructions on how to use the directory command. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...


Quotes

Although most users think of the shell as an interactive command interpreter, it is really a programming language in which each statement runs a command. Because it must satisfy both the interactive and programming aspects of command execution, it is a strange language, shaped as much by history as by design. -- Brian Kernighan & Rob Pike [1] Brian Wilson Kernighan (IPA pronunciation: , the g is silent), (born 1942 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a computer scientist who worked at Bell Labs alongside Unix creators Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie and contributed greatly to Unix and its school of thought. ... Rob Pike (born 1956) is a software engineer and author. ...

Examples

4DOS is a command line interpreter by JP Software originally designed to replace the DOS default command. ... Instructions on how to use the directory command. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... 4NT is a command line interpreter by JP Software, designed as a substitute for the default command interpreter cmd. ... Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. ... AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. ... The AS/400 control language (CL) is reminiscent of JCL and consists of an ever expanding set of command objects (*CMD) used to invoke traditional AS/400 programs and/or get help on what those programs do. ... OS/400 is an operating system used on IBMs line of AS/400 (now called iSeries) minicomputers. ... Basic Plus (or Basic-Plus) was an extended dialect of the BASIC programming language developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for use on its RSTS/E time_shared operating system for the PDP-11 series of 16-bit minicomputers in the early 1970s through the 1980s. ... RSTS/E (an acronym for Resource Sharing Time Sharing Extended) was a multi-user time-shared operating system developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for the PDP-11 series of 16-bit minicomputers, and used primarily during the 1970s and 1980s, although some installations were still being upgraded well into... cmd. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ... The Conversational Monitor System (CMS) is a relatively simple interactive computing single-user operating system which was for many years IBMs principal time-sharing product. ... VM/CMS (Virtual Machine/Conversational Monitor System, originally called CP/CMS when it first appeared) is a bundled pair of operating systems used on IBM System/360, System/370, System/390, zSeries, and System z9 mainframes (and compatible systems). ... COMMAND.COM is the name for the default operating system shell (or command line interpreter) for DOS and 16/32bits versions of Windows (95/98/98 SE/Me). ... Instructions on how to use the directory command. ... Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. ... Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me (IPA pronunciation: [miː], [ɛm iː]), is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft. ... Commodore, the commonly used name for Commodore International, was an American electronics company based in West Chester, Pennsylvania which was a vital player in the home/personal computer field in the 1980s. ... Startup message of DOS Wedge (DOS MANAGER) V5. ... The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single personal computer model of all time. ... DCL is the standard Command line interface (CLI) adopted by most of the operating systems that were sold by the former Digital Equipment Corporation (which has since been acquired by Hewlett-Packard). ... OpenVMS[1] (Open Virtual Memory System or just VMS) is the name of a high-end computer server operating system that runs on the VAX[2] and Alpha[3] family of computers developed by Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts (DIGITAL was then purchased by Compaq, and is now owned... gmlcmd. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... International Business Machines Corporation (known as IBM or Big Blue; NYSE: IBM) is a multinational computer technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. ... OS/400 is an operating system used on IBMs line of AS/400 (now called iSeries) minicomputers. ... Time Sharing Option (TSO) is an interactive environment for IBM mainframe operating systems such as MVS/ESA, OS/390 and z/OS. It fills the same purpose as the login sessions used by users on Unix or Windows. ... MVS (Multiple Virtual Storage) was the most commonly used operating system on the System/370 and System/390 IBM mainframe computers. ... z/OS Welcome Screen seen through a terminal emulator The title of this article begins with a capital letter due to technical limitations. ... Screenshot of a sample Bash session, taken on Gentoo Linux. ... The Bourne shell, or sh, was the default Unix shell of Unix Version 7, and replaced the Thompson shell, whose executable file had the same name, sh. ... This article is about the Unix shell. ... The C shell (csh) is a Unix shell developed by Bill Joy for the BSD Unix system. ... Windows PowerShell, previously Microsoft Shell or MSH (codenamed Monad) is an extensible command line interface (CLI) shell and scripting language product developed by Microsoft. ... Windows XP is a line of proprietary operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ... The Windows 2000 Recovery Console selection, login, and command prompts. ... Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptible, interruptible, graphical and business-oriented operating system that was designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor 32-bit Intel x86 computers. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ... YouOS is an experimental web desktop produced by WebShaka that replicates the desktop environment of a modern operating system on a webpage, using Javascript to communicate with the remote server. ... YouOS is an experimental web desktop produced by WebShaka that replicates the desktop environment of a modern operating system on a webpage, using Javascript to communicate with the remote server. ...

See also

In computing, a shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users (command line interpreter). ... It has been suggested that dumb terminal be merged into this article or section. ... In computer command line interfaces, a command line argument is an argument sent to a program being called. ... Insert non-formatted text hereBatch processing is the execution of a series of programs (jobs) on a computer without human interaction, when possible. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to Windows commands In MS-DOS, OS/2 and Windows, a batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. ... A shell script is a script written for the shell, or command line interpreter, of an operating system. ... Scripting languages (commonly called scripting programming languages or script languages) are computer programming languages that are typically interpreted and can be typed directly from a keyboard. ... A domain-specific programming language (domain-specific language, DSL) is a programming language designed to be useful for a specific set of tasks. ... clig (Command Line Interpreter Generator) is a *NIX command line utility which uses a simple description file to create C code to interprete the typical *NIX command line as well as an up-to-date usage-message and a manual page skeleton. ... Tcl (originally from Tool Command Language, but nonetheless conventionally rendered as Tcl rather than TCL; and pronounced tickle) is a scripting language created by John Ousterhout. ... C is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative computer programming language developed in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system. ...

References

  1. ^ Brian W. Kernighan and Rob Pike, "The UNIX Programming Environment", Prentice-Hall (1984).

Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

  • Command Line Warriors — an open site about Command Line Computing.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Command line interpreter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (384 words)
A command line interpreter is a computer program which reads lines of text that the user types and interprets them in the context of a given operating system or programming language.
This requires the user to know the names of the commands and their parameters, and the syntax of the language that is interpreted.
Some command line interpreters also incorporate the interpreter engines of other languages, such as REXX, in addition to their own, allowing the executing of scripts, in those languages, directly within the command line interpreter itself.
Command line interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2572 words)
The term is usually used in contrast to a graphical user interface (GUI) in which commands are typically issued by moving a pointer (via a pointing device) to a zone of the screen and pressing a button mounted on the pointing device (clicking).
Command line interfaces require recall memory for routine functions that are repeated many times a day, instead of recognition memory, which some claim is the more natural way for humans to navigate and interact with their environment.
Command line interfaces are not efficient for multitasking; they do not offer the same ability to view multiple program outputs or content simultaneously.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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