03-05-2001
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Join Date: Sep 2000
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I think most UNIX folks use X as their desktop and then use X Terminals for command lines. If you use a basic console you are limited to the console unless you use the virtual consoles (like in Linux) where you can shift from console to console using the F(function) (or similar) keys.
However, in most X based desktops you have much more control over your command line terminals (xterms). So, if are going to do a bunch of compiling and working on a lot of different projects, having a desktop to launch X terminals makes life much easier.
On the other hand, if you are just running a server for your web, firewall, ftp, mail or other network service, then there may be little benefit to using the extra memory on your X environment.
Since you are just learning, you need to also learn the X environment, including X server and other X related utilities sooner-than-later. X is an integral part of all UNIX environments and helps teach many essentials too.
This does not mean that you should use X GUIs to change directories and play in your filesystem (like Windows Explorer); using command line utilties like find and cd to explore the filesystem is better and more efficient, IMHO. However, having many open X Terms can be very helpful if you like to multitask and do many things at once. In other words, you can be a command line guru via the X environment. That is what most people do.
[Edited by Neo on 03-05-2001 at 09:37 PM]
