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Unix and Unix-like systems would be referred to as command interpreters because of the nature of their interface. These systems are interacted with via a shell (i.e. Bash), which is a 'command-line interface' where the user types in text commands and they are executed by the system. This is in contrast with modern operating systems where the primary method of interaction is via a 'graphical user interface' or GUI, where the system is represented with graphics (like windows, cursors, toolbars etc.). These modern OS's still include command-line interfaces, like Command Prompt in Windows and the Terminal in OSX.

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Q: Why is Unix called a command interpreter?
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Write a UNIX command to display the current date in the form ddmmyyyy?

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What are the translator used of python programming languange?

interactive interpreter more like a "shell" (if you're a unix person).


UNIX may be described as being difficult to use Why?

Traditionally, the UNIX command interface was the only way to communicate within a UNIX system. Today, that is not true, with the graphical interfaces that are available. However, the true power of what you can do within UNIX is still in the command line interface. The command line interface is not very intuitive, and uses commands that are abbreviated to the point of not necessarily being understandable. Also, system administration tasks in Unix have typically been harder to accomplish because of the amount of background knowledge necessary even to do simple things. UNIX was developed early on for programmers by programmers, and little thought was given to the end user; as a result, it had a reputation of being difficult to use until you took the time to understand the (admittedly) arcane command line interface.


How can you stop computer programmes running in the background?

In UNIX: with command kill, in Windows: from Task Manager.


Unix command to count how many users have logged on to the unix system?

The 'uptime' command will tell you exactly how many users are on the system. There are other variations of this, including counting the number of words from the 'users' command, etc., but this is the easiest.

Related questions

What is another term for a Unix command interpreter that translates your typed commands?

Shell


Another term for the unix command interpreter that translates your typed commands into machine instructions is?

shell


How are command located in unix?

The shell interpreter uses the PATH or path variable to determine which directories to look in. It will look for an executable file with the same name as the command.


How do you use command interpreter?

To use a command interpreter, you typically open a terminal or command prompt on your computer, then type commands followed by any necessary arguments or options. The interpreter reads these commands, interprets them, and executes the corresponding actions on the system. Common examples of command interpreters include the Windows Command Prompt, macOS Terminal, and Unix/Linux shells like Bash.


Command prompt on a Mac Machine?

Command Prompt is the command-line interpreter used within the Windows operating system. As Mac OS X is based on the Unix operating system it uses the a Unix Shell command-line interpreter. You can access the Shell by running the Terminal application which can be found in the Utilities folder which is within the Applications folder.


What is a command interpreter and why is it separate from the kernel?

A command interpreter is an interface of the operating system with the user. The user gives commands with are executed by operating system (usually by turning them into system calls). The main function of a command interpreter is to get and execute the next user specified command. Command-Interpreter is usually not part of the kernel, since multiple command interpreters (shell, in UNIX terminology) may be support by an operating system, and they do not really need to run in kernel mode. There are two main advantages to separating the command interpreter from the kernel. 1. If we want to change the way the command interpreter looks, i.e., I want to change the interface of command interpreter, I am able to do that if the command interpreter is separate from the kernel. I cannot change the code of the kernel so I cannot modify the interface. 2. If the command interpreter is a part of the kernel it is possible for a malicious process to gain access to certain part of the kernel that it showed not have to avoid this ugly scenario it is advantageous to have the command interpreter separate from kernel


Why do v use shells in unix?

A shell is a command interpreter. This is not limited to Unix. The programs COMMAND.COM or CMD.EXE are also shells in the DOS/Windows environments. The program EXPLORER.EXE is also a shell, though with a graphical interface.


What is the use of execute command in unix?

There is no traditional 'execute' command in Unix.


Brief description of format command in unix?

There is no standard 'format' command in Unix.


What do CD command do in unix?

The 'CD' command is not standard for Unix. The 'cd' command, however, will change directories (folders). It is a means of navigating the Unix file system.


What is command interpreter?

A command interpreter is a program that converts the human written commands into the machine understandable language through the i/o devices. It is with the help of this interpreter we can actually communicate with the operating systems. A command interpreter is a separate program but can be referred as a component of an operating system.


In computing what does KSH mean?

KSH is an abbreviation for korn shell. Korn shell is a command interpreter for the Unix programming language. It was written in 1983 by David Korn at Bell Labs.