Terminal
Terminal is an interface in which you can type and execute text commands. It allows direct communication between the user and the operating system or a software application. Terminals are crucial for running command line tools, scripting, and managing system resources, especially in environments that do not use a graphical interface.
Originally, the term referred to physical devices (terminal computers) used to interact with mainframes, the large super-computers of the past. Modern usage of the term "terminal" often refers to software-based emulations of these traditional terminals, such as the Terminal app in macOS, Command Prompt and PowerShell in Windows, or various terminal emulator programs available in Linux, like GNOME Terminal and Konsole.
These software terminals emulate the functionality of the old hardware terminals, providing a text-based interface where users can input commands, run programs, and see the output directly on their screens. They are essential for many tasks in software development, system administration, and network management.
A terminal usually looks like a black window with random text that you typically see in the movies when a hacker is doing something illegal. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it looks, but it really does let you do some powerful things on your computer.
When you open a terminal, you are entering the command line mode. Here, you can type commands, press the Enter key, and see the outcomes instantaneously.
Most of the things that you can do in your operating system via graphical user interface (GUI), such as copying files or launching applications, can be done from the terminal using text commands. By the way, you are using Linux right now. In fact, there are tons of stuff that are either faster or only possible to do when using the command line. For example, sending the output from one command to another, running the same command on multiple files, or running a command on a remote computer, etc.
Hi! I'm Alex, creator of GitByBit.
And this is Gitopedia—a reference that summarizes knowledge in my Git course.
Gitopedia is designed to be a personal knowledge base. When you progress through the main Git course in VS Code, you unlock all of these topics, one by one, bit by bit. This gives you time to digest the information and gradually build the mental model of Git. Here's an example of how it works:
Learning directly in VS Code lets you practice Git exactly as you would in real life, doing real jobs, writing real code. In addition, the course has access to your actual terminal, so it can point out mistakes, suggest workarounds, etc.
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