Command-Line Interface

Description
1. User types in a command at a character prompt and then the operating system executes the command.
2. Used in the early days of computing
3. Some of the commands may have 'switches' to provide options for the command. E.g. in Microsoft operating systems, the command for listing the files in a folder called 'DOCS' on drive C is DIR C:\DOCS
4. Some instructions may have a number of switches and the commands could become quite complex
5. A switch, \W specifies that the filenames are to be printed across the screen instead of down and the instruction that needs to be entered at the command prompt is: DIR C:\DOCS /W
Advantages
1. Instructions execute quickly
2. Instructions are versatile - meaning the user can select a large number of options for each intruction
3. The operating system is smaller when loaded onto memory
Disadvantages
1. You need to learn the special intructions used
2. If you mistype a command or misspell a word then it cannot be executed
3. Some commands and their options can be very complex, so high-levels of ICT are needed

Resource summary

	Created by Skeletor about 10 years ago