Is using a GUI worse than using bash and other text interface tools?

Question

As a freelancer, and previous Adobe trainer, I get a look-in at many development workflows and alternate styles of programming and design and therefore quite open to different workflows. But a recent post I had, I needed to use SQL - so I whipped out navicat and wrote a nice join statement.

I had sniggering comments and sideways glances when I told the developers I was working with navicat, I preferred a GUI to bash and I prefer Aptana to notepad.

I felt a little insulted and under skilled as I didn't want to sit in front of reams of spewing green text. I know and use the tools when required but I prefer more attractive, modern products.

• Have you guys had this?
• What do you do to overcome it - apart from using bash and notepad more?
• How do you subdue a developer who's being arrogant about his skill?
• And is it my fault?

I hope this question is not subjective, I do feel like I am inferior to my peers due to it - so some advise would really help.

Answer 1

Well, one thing you could do is ask the sneering teammates to show you how they can do the same thing better or faster using their preferred tools, and explain why. As an outcome, one of you will learn a better way of doing things.

Answer 2

The most striking difference for me is that (good) GUI Tools puts all functions in your viewport (or several clicks away) whereas using bash takes training and time (and some cheatsheets)

Most of the time you'll be faster with a textual tool - if, and only if you are familar enough with what you're doing and you have a clear outcome in mind.

I think it is perfectly ok to use graphical tools if you are new or unsure. Currently I am on the transistion from using a graphical SQL tool towards the commandline. Most of the time both tools are open and I just use the one thats giving me faster results.

If you work long enough with the graphical tool you will find that it is annoying in some parts an you're going to look up how this could be achieved in command line. After 5+ times doing it in the commandline it will feel natural simply because it is less hassle. You just have to know that the commandline option exists.

Regarding Aptana vs. notepad: This is a highly philosophical question, I would not consider using Aptana as being unprofessional. Here again, after you are familiar with the basics try to get faster ( through learning Shortcuts, Shortcuts and ehhmm... Shortcuts), try to use the mouse less. You'll soon reach the state where you are coding faster than you can think.

One last aspect is that people are different, some like graphical tools, some like textual tools. Unless your graphical tool is a obstacle in terms of speed you should use the one that suits you best.

Answer 3

The problem is not using GUI tools. The problem is with using GUI tools for the wrong reasons.

If you're using GUI tools to avoid the tedium of writing boilerplate code or having to check that you spelled table name correctly, you're doing it right. Anyone who doesn't like that is just being a snob. (I generally chafe under limitations of Aqua Data Studio BUT it makes my query writing about 50-100% faster thanks to Intellisense, even if the tool can't execute some of my queries due to straitjackets).

BUT

If you're using the GUI tools because you don't understand the underlying technology - meaning you can NOT generate the code yourself should said GUI tool be taken from you, and don't understand the details of why certain code decisions have certain consequences - then the "real" developers who do have a right to look down on such a practice.

Without knowing more context, I can't say which of two cases your situation fits in, but jope this helps you clarify.