ANNOUNCE: Release of Vital, an interactive visual programming environment for Haskell

[Jeff Dalton]

Quoting Graham Klyne <GK at ninebynine.org>:

> Finally, as evidence for this view of user interfaces, I note that for
> tasks like computer system administration, graphical interfaces have
> pretty much taken over from the old command-line-and-text-file approach.
> Even Linux systems have graphical front-ends for most of the common 
> configuration, even though, for an experienced sysadmin, ...

> In short, it's the occasional user, not the full-time expert, 
> who may be better served by a non-textual approach.

I don't think the Linux developments are really evidence of anything
other than a desire to have a more Windows-like interface, because
that looks like it will make it easier for Linux to penetrate
certain markets, or because that's what the people who develop
these interfaces are used to.

My own experience -- as an occasional user of Linux, but familiar
with BSD and able to use Macs without much trouble and even to
tolerate Windows for limited purposes -- was that the graphical
Linux interfaces were virtually unusable.