Different Between CUI And GUI (IC T1 Q11)

A lot of people ask about the advantages of CUI over GUI. Today we are going to discuss about the differences between using CUI and GUI. The following table will list the differences between the two:-

TOPIC	COMMAND LINE	GUI
Ease	New users find it much more difficult to use the command line interface as memorization of the commands need to be done. Moreover, each and every part of the command need to be typed by the user.	Although new users may have a difficult at time learning to use the mouse to operate and use a GUI most users pick up this interface much easier when compared to a command line interface.
Control	Users using command line interface get much more control over the operating system and the file system. For example, a single line command may be used to copy a file from one location to the other.	Although GUI provides a lot of control over the file system and the operating system, even then the advanced users need the command line at some point of ime for advanced level tasks.
Multitasking	Although CUI provides multitasking to a great extent, but there is no provision for viewing all those tasks on the same terminal.	The windowed architecture of GUI provides for viewing more than one task on the screen at once hence the efficiency of the user increases.
Speed	Because command line users only need to use their keyboards to navigate a command line interface and often only need to execute a few lines to perform a task an advanced command line interface user would be able to get something done faster then an advance GUI user.	A GUI may be easier to use because of the mouse. However, using a mouse and keyboard to navigate and control your operating system for many things is going to be much slower than someone who is working in a command line..
Low resources	A lot less computer resources are needed when the system is running only command line interface.	A lot more system resources are required in case of GUI because of each of the elements that need to be loaded such as icons, fonts, etc. In addition video drivers, mouse drivers, and other drivers that need to be loaded will also take additional resources.
Scripting	A sequence of commands to perform a task or execute a program may easily be scripted using a command line interface.	A GUI doesnt even come closer to what is provided by CUI for scripting. But it does provide for links, shortcuts, etc.
Remote access	Often when accessing another computer or networking device over a network a user will only be able to manipulate the device or its files using a command line, CLI, or other text only manipulation.	Although remote graphical access is becoming popular and is possible. Not all computers and especially not all network equipment will have this ability.