Jussi Jumppanen wrote:
Replace ls with dir, download the Win32 version of grep, sed, awk
and you can run all those tools just fine from the Windows command
line, or from within any decent editor.
You don't have to go to Unix to find the command line.
The Windows terminal emulator sucks. This is not subject to debate. I
have never seen a terminal emulator that is worse, and I have never seen
one that was only slightly better.
There is little incentive in Windows to make commandline utilities. If
you are using the command line to a significant degree in Windows, you
are either going to use [possibly incomplete] ports of Unix utilities or
Cygwin.
If you go through the trouble of finding each of these utilities
individually, whether ports or written specifically for Windows, you are
wasting time on a solved problem. A default install of Cygwin or any
Unix will include these utilities.
Cygwin qualifies as Unix, but it has not been a painless, seamless
experience for me. It's far easier for me to work under Linux than with
Cygwin.
If you need to use the command line, you really should use Unix, if it's
reasonable. The Windows filesystem structure is a source of pain, and
it's hard to work around. It's hard to get information about interacting
with the OS from the command line. Windows and Cygwin just isn't that
great a fit.
