[LBo] About the command line interface

[Jisao]

People often refer to this be saying "get to a command line interface", 
or "open a terminal", or also used (but with a slightly different 
meaning) is "open a console".  There are basically 3 ways of getting to 
a command line:

using a console via a graphic interface that gets you a command line, 
usually on a white background writing in black, done using kde or gnome 
or your gui desktop. (The last detail is important to remember).

using a console, or terminal, from a menu which generally displays a 
black screen icon.  You will then get to a window with a black screen 
and you type in white. In this case, you are in a X terminal, or console).

... and last, the bulldozer of all terminal, what I call a "real linux 
terminal'" (not a console in this case - but a device called "tty" in 
general) displaying a command line.  In this case, you are truly 
"sitting on Linux".  You get to this type of terminal by typing 
ctl+alt_F1 in most distributions.  To get back to guy, you type 
ctl+alt+F7.  Note that the majority of distributions provide access to 4 
linux command line terminals and one gui terminal simultaneously.  
ctl+alt+F1, ctl+alt+F2, ctl+alt+F3, ctl+alt+F4, ctl+alt+F7.


In general, it doesn't make much difference which one you use (I use 
them all regularly).  However the main difference between the 3 is that 
one "sits" on Linux directly, one "sits" on X, the graphical interface, 
and one "sits" on your desktop application.  So when your desktop 
application get screwy for some reason, or X gives you trouble (not 
recognizing your monitor or graphic card, or whatever other reason) and 
won't do its job properly,  it is time to get the basis and use 
ctl+alt+F1 (when all else fails, ctl+alt+F1 does the job).

 

Jisao