Why You Don’t Have To Learn The Terminal

为什么你不需要学习终端

I’ve read the article, “Why Mint’s easy graphical interface is the worst thing for your Linux journey” and I have some counter arguments on the article. The article explains that if you don’t use the terminal which is one of the best features in the linux world, you are hurting your journey of being a linux user. I disagree with that because I believe that you don’t need to learn the terminal. 我读了《为什么 Mint 简单的图形界面对你的 Linux 之旅来说是最糟糕的事情》这篇文章，并对此有一些反驳意见。文章指出，如果你不使用终端（Linux 世界中最强大的功能之一），就会阻碍你作为 Linux 用户的成长。我不同意这种观点，因为我认为你并不一定非要学习终端。

The greatest feature of linux is its uniqueness or the “distros” created by other creators. A distro is a distribution of a software in this case, it’s linux. Linux is built for the user’s needs. If you don’t like one distro then you can move to another distro. The whole point of the operating system (OS) is to get the computer to function the way you want it and for your workflow. A gamer doesn’t care about kali linux, a Fortune 500 company doesn’t care about SteamOS, and a regular user that wants an OS to just work doesn’t care about RHEL or CentOS Stream. Linux 最伟大的特性在于其独特性，或者说是其他开发者创造的“发行版”（distros）。发行版即软件的分发版本，在这里指的就是 Linux。Linux 是为用户的需求而构建的。如果你不喜欢某个发行版，完全可以换一个。操作系统的核心意义在于让计算机按照你的意愿运行，并适配你的工作流。游戏玩家不在乎 Kali Linux，财富 500 强企业不在乎 SteamOS，而只想让系统“开箱即用”的普通用户也不在乎 RHEL 或 CentOS Stream。

Proof of Concept: If we look at the majority of Windows and MacOS users, most of them probably don’t use cmd or the Terminal or even knew it existed. They just want to get work done without fighting the OS. If we look at users that choose graphical distros like Linux Mint or Ubuntu, they just want an alternative to Windows and MacOS. Those users choose the graphical distros because it’s a “beginner’s Linux distribution” to help you begin using linux. The point of those beginner-friendly distros is to prevent burnouts when migrating from Windows or MacOS. If you give ArchLinux to a user who is completely new to linux, they will leave on week 1. The beginner distros exist to reduce the amount of burnout when trying out linux. 概念验证：看看大多数 Windows 和 MacOS 用户，他们中大多数人可能从未使用过 cmd 或终端，甚至不知道它们的存在。他们只是想完成工作，而不是与操作系统“斗智斗勇”。看看那些选择 Linux Mint 或 Ubuntu 等图形化发行版的用户，他们只是想要一个 Windows 和 MacOS 的替代品。这些用户选择图形化发行版，是因为它们是“初学者 Linux 发行版”，能帮助你入门。这些对初学者友好的发行版旨在防止用户在从 Windows 或 MacOS 迁移时产生挫败感。如果你把 ArchLinux 给一个完全的新手，他们第一周就会放弃。初学者发行版的存在，就是为了减少尝试 Linux 时的挫败感。

Many of those who know linux more expect new users to learn complicated distros like ArchLinux which is why linux still remains small. It’s like using Windows your entire life and suddenly your workplace replaces it with MacOS. Migrating is harder because they are different Operating Systems with different functions making your workflow difficult. 许多资深 Linux 用户期望新手直接学习 ArchLinux 这样复杂的发行版，这正是 Linux 用户群体依然较小的原因。这就像你一辈子都在用 Windows，突然有一天公司把系统换成了 MacOS。迁移变得更加困难，因为它们是不同的操作系统，功能各异，这会严重干扰你的工作流。

Graphical Distros Can Be a Positive for Your Linux Journey: Graeme Peacock, who is the author of both the Yahoo and How-To-Geek articles, says because he embraced harder problems, he learned how to do demanding projects. Those “demanding projects” are Docker, Linux deployments, full-stack development, etc. The author says without the hard challenge of ArchLinux, he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish the demanding projects he had mentioned. In paragraph 12, he mentioned how it benefited him by taking on the harder challenge, “Arch Linux gradually led me to more demanding projects”. Is he wrong about taking harder challenges to lead to growth? No, he isn’t wrong. It’s how we grow and become a better version of ourselves. He says “Growth comes only through difficulty.” in paragraph 11. However, he is wrong about graphical distros causing you to stagnate. 图形化发行版对你的 Linux 之旅大有裨益：雅虎和 How-To-Geek 文章的作者 Graeme Peacock 表示，正是因为他勇于挑战难题，才学会了如何处理高难度的项目。这些“高难度项目”包括 Docker、Linux 部署、全栈开发等。作者认为，如果没有 ArchLinux 的严苛挑战，他将无法完成上述项目。在第 12 段中，他提到了接受挑战带来的益处：“Arch Linux 逐渐引导我走向更具挑战性的项目”。他认为接受挑战能促进成长，这有错吗？没错。这就是我们成长并成为更好的自己的方式。他在第 11 段说：“成长只源于困难。”然而，他认为图形化发行版会导致停滞不前，这一点是错误的。

When I was new to Linux, Linux Mint was the first Linux distro I ever tried. Over time, I started appreciating linux and loving linux more than Windows especially after Microsoft ended support for Windows 10. I got curious and wanted to learn more about Linux. It’s how I discovered companies like Pine64 and Framework exist. If I was still a Windows user, I would’ve never found out about Framework or Pine64 because I didn’t see it in a retailer like BestBuy or Microcenter. I also tried other distros like Ubuntu and Debian to see how it differs from Mint. So, based on my experiences with graphical distros, Graeme Peacock is wrong. He said you need to embrace challenges to continue the linux journey you’ve built. While this is true, he got it in the wrong order. You start simple and then work your way up. It’s like giving a bunch of kindergarteners geometry equations and expecting them to suddenly become professors at Harvard. Instead, you start simple and work your way up. You start with simple equations like 1+1, and progress from there. You go to elementary, middle, and high school, working your way up to college. It’s small steps at a time. 当我刚接触 Linux 时，Linux Mint 是我尝试的第一个发行版。随着时间的推移，我开始欣赏 Linux，并且比 Windows 更爱它，尤其是在微软停止对 Windows 10 的支持之后。我产生了好奇心，想了解更多关于 Linux 的知识。这就是我发现 Pine64 和 Framework 等公司的原因。如果我还是个 Windows 用户，我永远不会知道 Framework 或 Pine64，因为我在百思买（BestBuy）或 Microcenter 这样的零售商那里根本看不到它们。我还尝试了 Ubuntu 和 Debian 等其他发行版，看看它们与 Mint 有何不同。因此，基于我在图形化发行版上的经验，Graeme Peacock 的观点是错误的。他说你需要拥抱挑战来延续你的 Linux 之旅。虽然这话没错，但他搞错了顺序。你应该从简单开始，然后逐步进阶。这就像给一群幼儿园的孩子做几何题，并指望他们突然成为哈佛教授一样。相反，你应该从简单开始，循序渐进。你从 1+1 这样的简单算式开始，然后不断进步。你经历小学、初中、高中，最后进入大学。这是一步一个脚印的过程。

Graeme Peacock says, “Growth comes only through difficulty.” but in my opinion, growth only comes through difficulty if you do it correctly. That’s why it doesn’t matter if you use a graphical distro or not, it all depends on your effort to expand your linux journey. Graeme Peacock 说：“成长只源于困难。”但在我看来，只有当你以正确的方式面对困难时，成长才会发生。这就是为什么你是否使用图形化发行版并不重要，关键在于你为拓展 Linux 之旅所付出的努力。

In Conclusion: I’ve already explained why graphical distros are progress and not stagnation. Linux is a wonderful piece of software. For those who want to be more accustomed to linux but don’t know where to begin, it’s best to start with the graphical distros then expand the journey if you want to. But really, it’s all up to you on how you want to start with linux. If you want to learn the terminal, you can but if not, then don’t feel pressure about learning it. We are all different and learn at a different pace in a different way. 结论：我已经解释了为什么图形化发行版是进步而非停滞。Linux 是一款出色的软件。对于那些想更熟悉 Linux 却不知从何入手的人来说，最好从图形化发行版开始，如果愿意，之后再进一步拓展。但说到底，如何开启你的 Linux 之旅完全取决于你自己。如果你想学习终端，可以去学；但如果不想，也不必感到压力。我们每个人都是独特的，学习的节奏和方式也各不相同。