Post #1621358
2026-03-11 12:03 UTC
@mattdm
> I wonder how much this has to do with growing up with command-line interfaces vs graphical ones
Great point! I started using and programming computers before graphical OS interfaces were really a thing (first computer was a Commodore 64).
A CLI command means I dictate a step, the computer performs it, and when programming; I dictate a series of step, the computer performs them, in the given order. The imperative is right there in the words "command" and "program".
@virtulis @eltonfc
Replies (1)
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@MusicologyHippo@hcommons.social 2026-03-11 12:27
@strypey @mattdm @virtulis @eltonfc This is a really good point--I started out entirely in GUI environments and only a few years later started using CLIs. I do think about GUI buttons as infinitives and CLI as imperative (though, as a native speaker, the main reason why I think about the grammatical difference is because of taking second languages--perhaps the reason why I think the way I do is because la.wikipedia.org uses infinitives).