88 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
88 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
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title = "The modern CLI Renaissance, In Rust?"
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date = 2024-03-04T12:20:02-06:00
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draft = true
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+++
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:caution-caption: pass:[<span style="font-size: 2em">☠</span>]
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:important-caption: pass:[<span style="font-size: 2em">❗</span>]
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:note-caption: pass:[<span style="font-size: 2em">✏️</span>]
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:tip-caption: pass:[<span style="font-size: 2em">💡</span>]
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:warning-caption: pass:[<span style="font-size: 2em">⚠</span>]
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:toc:
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:toclevels: 6
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// btop, 2021, c++
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// bat, 2018, rust
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// helix, 2020, rust
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// zoxide, 2020, rust
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// starship, 2019, rust
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// difftastic, 2018, rust
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// git-delta, 2019, rust
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// nushell, 2018, rust
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// hyperfine, 2018, rust
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// sd, 2018, rust
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// tre, 2019, rust
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// typst, 2019, rust
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// yazi, 2024, rust
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// fd, 2017, rust
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// ripgrep, 2016, rust
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// ast-grep, 2022, rust
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// pueue, 2015, rust
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// diskonaut, 2020, rust
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// broot, 2018, rust
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// just, 2016, rust
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// zellij, 2020, rust
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// scc, 2018, go
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// fzf, 2013, go
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// lazygit, 2018, go
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// grex, 2019, rust
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// micro, 2016, go
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// oh-my-posh, 2019, go
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// nnn, 2016, c
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// qalculate, 2016, c++
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// eza/exa, 2014, rust
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// lsd, 2018, rust
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// neovim, 2015, c
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// cat, cd, rm, cp, man was included in the first version of unix, in 1971
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// ls specifically can trace its history to 1961 (https://tldp.org/LDP/LG/issue48/fischer.html)
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// vi was made in 1976
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// sed in 1974
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// awk in 1985
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// bc in 1975
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// diff in 1974
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// make in 1976
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// vim in 1991
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// ssh in 1995
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// midnight commander in 1994
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// rust 1.0 in 2015
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The terminal has been a staple of computer user interfaces since before computer monitors were available,
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with some of the first computers offering an interactive mode in the late 1950's.
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The 'modern' Linux terminal traces its linage to the very first version of Unix, in 1971.
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Many utilities that a Linux user uses every day,
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commands like `rm`, `cat`, `cd`, `cp`, `man` and a host of other core commands trace their initial versions to this first version of Unix.
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Other tools are a bit newer, such as `sed` (1974), `diff` (1974) `bc` (1975), `make` (1976) or `vi` (1976).
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There where a few more tools introduced in the 90's, such as `vim` (1991) and `ssh`, (1995), but you get the picture.
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The majority of the foundational CLI tools on a Linux pc, even one installed yesterday, are older than Linux itself is.
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== Ok, so?
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Now, theres nothing wrong with this, the tools work fine still, but,
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in the half-century since they were first written,
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Terminals, users, and the broader linux ecosystem have all changed.
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Terminals now have capacity to display more colours, Unicode symbols, and even inline images.
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TODO: how have things changed?
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Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, our knowledge has expanded,
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our knowledge of user interfaces,
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of what works and what doesnt,
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of what usecases are common and what usecases are niche,
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and the value of documentation that is easy to find and digest.
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== The revival of the terminal
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In recent years, Ive noticed a resurgence in development of command line utilities.
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Instead of just developing tools that dont exist,
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Ive noticed that people are remaking, rethinking, tools that have existed since the early days of Unix.
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