GUI versus CLI

Now that you've learned the inner workings of computers,  let's discuss how users and  operating systems communicate with each other.  
 So far, you've learned that a computer has an operating system, hardware, and applications. 
 Remember, the operating system  communicates with the hardware to execute tasks. 
 In this video, you'll learn how the  user—that's you—interacts with  the operating system in order to  send tasks to the hardware. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The user communicates with  the operating system via an interface. 
 A user interface is a program that allows  a user to control the functions of the operating system. 
 Two user interfaces that we'll discuss are  the graphical user interface, or  GUI, and the command-line interface, or CLI. 
 Let's cover these interfaces in more detail. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A GUI is a user interface that uses icons on  the screen to manage different tasks on the computer. 
 Most operating systems can be  used with a graphical user interface. 
 If you've used a personal computer or a cell phone,  you have experienced operating a GUI. 
 Most GUIs include these components: 
   a start menu with program groups,  a task bar for launching programs,  and a desktop with icons and shortcuts. 
 All these components help you  communicate with the OS to execute tasks. 
 In addition to clicking on icons,  when you use a GUI,  you can also search for files or  applications from the start menu. 
 You just have to remember the icon or name  of the program to activate an application. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Now let's discuss the command-line interface. 
 In comparison, the command-line interface, or CLI,  is a text-based user interface  that uses commands to interact with the computer. 
 These commands communicate with  the operating system and execute  tasks like opening programs. 
 The command-line interface is  a much different structure  than the graphical user interface. 
 When you use the CLI,  you'll immediately notice a difference. 
 There are no icons or graphics on the screen. 
 The command-line interface looks similar to  lines of code using certain text languages. 
 A CLI is more flexible and more powerful than a GUI. 
 Think about using a CLI  like creating whatever meal you'd like  from ingredients bought at a grocery store. 
 This gives you a lot of control and  customization about what you're going to eat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In comparison,  using a GUI is more like ordering food from a restaurant. 
 You can only order what's on the menu. 
 If you want both a noodle dish and pizza,  but the first restaurant you go to only has pizza,  you'll have to go to another restaurant 
 to order the noodles. 
 With a graphical user interface,  you must do one task at a time. 
 But the command-line interface allows for customization,  which lets you complete multiple tasks simultaneously. 
 For example, imagine you  have a folder with hundreds of files of  different file types, and you need to  move only the JPEG files to a new folder. 
 Think about how slow and  tedious this would be as you use a GUI to  find each JPEG file in  this folder and move it into the new one. 
 On the other hand, the CLI would allow you to  streamline this process and move them all at once. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 As you can see, there are  very big differences in  these two types of user interfaces. 
 As a security analyst,  some of your work may involve the command-line interface. 
 When analyzing logs or  authenticating and authorizing users,  security analysts commonly use  a CLI in their everyday work. 
 In this video, we discussed two types of user interfaces.  
 You learned that you already have experience using a graphical user interface,  as most personal computers and cell phones use a GUI. 
 You were introduced to the command-line interface. 
 Later in the program,  you'll learn how to use a CLI in Linux and how  relevant it is to your daily work as a security analyst. 
 You'll get practical experience  communicating through the command line. Pretty exciting, right?