How would you describe what a Unix Shell is to a Novice User?

Question

How would you describe what a Unix Shell is to a Novice User?

Answer 1

The metaphor is a nut. Inside is the kernel, where the goodness is. On the outside, the bit you see, the bit you touch, is the shell.



So the shell is the bit of the computer, or more specifically the operating system, that you actually see first. That might be a $ with a blinking cursor next to it if you're looking at a glass teletype, or it might be the Macintosh desktop if you're looking at a modern computer.



The shell doesn't actually do anything directly useful for you. What it does is allow you to tell the computer the useful thing you want it to do, normally to start the program you want to use.

Answer 2

Well, I'm kind of a novice at this myseIf, but first explain what an operating system does.

It stores data, processed information, etc.



Well, how do you expect to store the information and process data? With the operating system of course.

But you need a way to tell the operating system what to do? 1's and 0's?? Of course that's not practical. A Unix shell is a kind of interface on telling the operating system what to do, by simplifying it for the user.



You use commands and the shell interprets them into instructions. The instructions (1's and 0's, also called machine language) are what the operating system uses.



So, a shell is a command interpreter that simplifies the way you tell a computer what to do.

Answer 3

A command line interface. It's worth giving it a bash.