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Video Title: Command Line Interface (CLI)
Description: Command Line Interface (CLI)
Watch more Videos at https://www.tutorialspoint.com/videotutorials/index.htm
Lecture By: Mr. Arnab Chakraborty, Tutorials Point India Private Limited
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We are going to discuss Command Line
Interface.

In short, it will be called as CLI.

So, CLI has been a great tool
for interaction with computers

until the video display
monitors came into existence.

So, CLI is the first choice of many
technical users and respective programmers.

And it is the minimum interface a software
can provide to its user.

So, those who are having
the experience to work with

the console, so they are
actually using this CLI.

So, there is a command line interface,
where the commands will be issued and

where the command will be issued and
respective outputs will be obtained.

So, this is the minimum interface a
software can provide to one user.

So, CLI provides a command prompt,
the place where the user types the command

and feeds to the system.

The user needs to remember the syntax of
the command and its respective use.

So, depending upon the operating system,
we know that there are different type of

commands are there and
each and every command has

got different syntax
depending upon the platform.

So, earlier CLI were not programmed to
handle the user errors effectively.

So, now let us go for the next point on
this CLI.

The command is a text based reference to
set of instructions.

So, what is the command?

Command is nothing but
a text based instruction,

which are expected to
be executed by the system.

And there are methods like macros, scripts
that make it easy for the user to operate.

In a script, we can
write a set of instructions,

set of such commands
and instructions.

And if we execute the
script, then all those

commands will get
executed one after another.

So, here we are
having the CLI uses less

amount of computed
resource as compared to GUI.

So, here we are having one UNIX based CLI.

So, here we are having this prompt.

This prompt is being denoted by dollar in
case of UNIX environment.

Dollar indicates that you have logged as
an ordinary user.

And if you have this hash
symbol as a prompt, that means

you have logged as a super
user or as an administrator.

So, this is the command prompt.

Here the command has been issued as LS.

In case of UNIX or Linux, LS stands for
list.

So, this particular command has been
issued.

So, they will be known as the parameters
with this LS command.

And this is the respective outputs are
coming.

You see everything is coming.

Whatever the commands you
are executing, you are executing

the command in the same screen
where the outputs are coming.

And here these outputs are having multiple
different columns.

So, that is one console as an example,
where put this one on our screen.

Now, let us consider the CLI elements.

A text based command line interface can
have the following elements.

So, what are they?

We are having the command prompt.

I discussed that one earlier in case of
UNIX.

If you log as an ordinary user,
the command prompt will be your dollar.

If you are the administrator or the super
user, then your command prompt will be the

hash symbol.

There is a default one.

You can change that one also.

So, it is a text based
notifier that is mostly

shows the context in
which the user is working.

And it is generated by the system
software.

There is a software system.

So, now next one is a cursor.

So, this is a small horizontal line or
might be a vertical bar also, of the

height of the line to represent the
position of the character while tapping.

So, if you type the character on the
keyboard.

So, where this character will
get displayed on the screen,

that will be denoted by
the position of the cursor.

So, cursor is mostly found in blinking
state to get to grab the attention.

The second one is the command.

So, a command is nothing but an executable
instruction.

So, it may have one or more parameters
which you can pass with the commands.

And output on the command execution is
shown in line on the screen.

When output is produced, the command
prompt is displayed on the next line.

So, after issuing one command, that is one
instruction, the outputs will be obtained.

And again, the command prompt will be
obtained in the next line.

So, in this way, we have discussed what is
command line interface and what is CLI.

Thanks for watching this video.