< operating system > A means of communication between a program and its user , based solely on textual input and output. Commands are input with the help of a keyboard or similar device and are interpreted and executed by the program. Results are output as text or graphics to the terminal .
Command line interfaces usually provide greater flexibility than graphical user interfaces , at the cost of being harder for the novice to use. Consequently, some hackers look down on GUIs as designed For The Rest Of Them .
(1996-01-12)