Rules to Better Command Lines

There should never be a command line utility without a UI. Take an example of Visual Studio 2008:

commandlinewithoutui — Figure: Bad example - In website project, Visual Studio does not have a UI for its command line

commandlinewithui — Figure: Good example - In web application project, Visual Studio provides a UI for its command line

It is always a good practice to have UI opened when specifying \[ApplicationName].exe from command line. If the GUI is not done, show a messagebox "GUI coming...".

Note: If you prefer for not putting UI as the default, it should have be at least "/GUI" as the argument. Do not use "/i", because too many command lines are using “/i” already.

commandlineopenuiwithargument — Figure: Bad example - /i should not be needed to get to the GUI – it should be by default

commandlineopenuiwithoutargument — Figure: Good example - UI is opened by default

When you develop an application that supports command line, you must provide a list of arguments / help on how to use the application through command line.

It can be as easy as typing: \[ApplicationName].exe /? for listing the arguments.

nolistofarguments — Figure: Bad example - Do no provide supported argument through /?

listofarguments — Figure: Good example - Provide supported argument through /?

Windows Terminal is a modern terminal application that allows users to manage multiple command-line tools from a single interface. One standout feature is the ability to split the main window into multiple panes, enabling the running and viewing of multiple sessions side by side within a single window.

This feature serves as an alternative to having multiple terminal windows open simultaneously. Panes help keep everything in one place, making it simpler to navigate between different sessions.

multiple windows — Figure: APIs and front-end applications running in different windows

one window — Figure: APIs and front-end applications running in panes

Use cases:

Monitoring different processes simultaneously
Running multiple projects locally
Executing commands concurrently

Main shortcuts:

Alt + Shift + +: to split the pane vertically
Alt + Shift + -: to split the pane horizontally
Alt + Shift + W: to close the pane
Alt + Arrow: to move between panes
Alt + Shift + Arrow: to resize a pane

Rules to Better Command Lines - 4 Rules

Do you have a UI for a command line utility?

Do you open UI by default when you type [ApplicationName].exe?

Do you provide list of arguments?

Do you organize your terminal sessions using Windows Terminal panes?