OS function: providing a command-line interface (CLI)

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. How does a user give instructions to a command-line interface (CLI)?

A By clicking icons and windows with a mouse

B By typing text commands

2. Which statement about using a CLI is correct?

A The user must remember the commands

B The CLI shows every available command as a button

3. Compared with a GUI, a CLI is usually...

A Harder for a beginner to learn

B Easier for a beginner to learn

4. Why do experienced users often like a CLI?

A It gives precise and quick control

B It needs no commands to be typed

5. Which interface uses fewer system resources such as RAM and processing power?

A GUI

B CLI

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1dir		AThe command is misspelt. A CLI only accepts exact commands, so the computer reports an error instead of listing the files.
2del report.txt		BA typed command that lists the files and folders in the current folder (ls on Linux and macOS)
3A CLI needs the user to remember exact commands and spell them correctly, so it is harder to learn than a GUI		CThis describes a GUI. A CLI uses typed text commands, has no icons or menus, and is hard for beginners to learn.
4An expert can control the computer precisely and quickly by typing one line of text with no menus		DA typed command that deletes the file called report.txt straight away, with no clicking
5C:\> dri		Ecopy notes.txt backup\notes.txt
6A CLI is easy for beginners because it shows icons and menus to click		Fdel *.tmp

Definitions

command-line interface (CLI)

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

$ __ Documents

$ _____ homework

$ __ notes.txt backup.txt

$ __ old_notes.txt

$ __ notes.txt photo.jpg

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A cdDocuments

B dir

C copy notes.txt backup

D del old.txt

Question 2

A cd Projects

B mkdr reports

C dir

D cd reports

Question 3

A OUTPUT command

B IF command = "dir" THEN

C OUTPUT "Listing files"

D ENDIF

Question 4

A WHILE command <> "exit"

B INPUT command

C OUTPUT "Running command"

D ENDIF

Question 5

A cd homework

B cp essay.txt

C ls backup

D rm essay.txt

Answer Key

OS function: providing a command-line interface (CLI)

Section A: Quick Questions

B — By typing text commands

A — The user must remember the commands

A — Harder for a beginner to learn

A — It gives precise and quick control

B — CLI

Section B: Match the Pairs

dir → A typed command that lists the files and folders in the current folder (ls on Linux and macOS)

del report.txt → A typed command that deletes the file called report.txt straight away, with no clicking

A CLI needs the user to remember exact commands and spell them correctly, so it is harder to learn than a GUI → copy notes.txt backup\notes.txt

An expert can control the computer precisely and quickly by typing one line of text with no menus → del *.tmp

C:\> dri → The command is misspelt. A CLI only accepts exact commands, so the computer reports an error instead of listing the files.

A CLI is easy for beginners because it shows icons and menus to click → This describes a GUI. A CLI uses typed text commands, has no icons or menus, and is hard for beginners to learn.

Section C: Definitions

command-line interface (CLI) — A user interface where you type text commands to control the computer. It is precise and quick for experts, uses few resources, but is harder to learn because commands must be remembered.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

$ cd Documents

$ mkdir homework

$ cp notes.txt backup.txt

$ rm old_notes.txt

$ ls
notes.txt  photo.jpg

Section E: Spot the Error

A — A command and its argument must be separated by a space. It should be 'cd Documents'. The CLI cannot understand 'cdDocuments'.

B — CLI commands must be typed exactly. The command to make a folder is 'mkdir', not 'mkdr', so the computer would not recognise it.

A — A CLI works by the user typing a command, so the program must read it with INPUT, not display it with OUTPUT.

D — A WHILE loop must be closed with ENDWHILE, not ENDIF. The CLI loop keeps asking for commands until the user types exit.

B — The cp command needs both a source and a destination. The line should be 'cp essay.txt backup' so the file is copied to backup.