[NANOG] Re: The Network CLI -- Love it ? Hate it? Needed?

[Jon Lewis via NANOG <nanog () lists nanog org>]

On Wed, 19 Mar 2025, Saku Ytti via NANOG wrote:

> I am almost sure that this is not just Network, but this applies to
> everything people use computers for.
>
> If an application is something that you use infrequently, people will
> prefer GUI.
> If an application is something you work hours on end, people will prefer CLI.

Some people :)

To elaborate on this, I think GUIs are generally intended to make things 
easier...and they often do.  If you need to do something infrequently, the 
GUI simplifies the task kind of like having training wheels on a bike.

When you need to do something repetitive and have a large pile of 
repititions to get through, if the GUI doesn't support doing this via some 
sort of batch operation, those training wheels just get in the way, and 
something that could take minutes or less will take hours, days, etc. 
Some people are ok with that and are content to sit at a desk pointing, 
clicking, copying and pasting for days.

Of course, this is why we have APIs.  So you can do the once in a while 
version of a task via an easy to use GUI, but when you need to do it 
hundreds or thousands of times, you can write code to automate the job.

Not everything on the network has an API, and not everything can easily be 
done via API even when there is one...so sometimes the CLI is the best way 
to get the job done.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jon Lewis, MCP :)              |  I route
 Blue Stream Fiber, Sr. Neteng  |  therefore you are
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