Terminal

[Joel]

> I'm still not sure where the terminal sits in terms of linux OS.

If it's a physical terminal, it usually sits (sat?) on your desk. You
could say it sat between the user and the computer. 

In the case of the console, it often sat on any open space relatively
close to the computer, including on top of the computer itself. I recall
installations where the operator had to sit on a high stool or a ladder
to get at the console.

The difference between a console and a terminal was primarily that
terminals were intended to be used by ordinary users. The console was
intended to be used by the operator.

These days, dedicated terminals are hard to find. You usually use a
terminal emulator program. And, since the average user is the operator,
the distinction between a terminal and a console is somewhat blurred.
However, the term "console" tends to be used when talking about
low-level access. (Many consoles in the good old days were just a series
of blinking lights with toggle switches, and the operator had a list of
commands that were entered as binary codes.)

> I
> understand a shell executes my commands, so why do I need a terminal,
> why not just have a shell.

The shell interprets your commands. The terminal provides an environment
to interact with the shell. Without the terminal, you'll have trouble
giving commands to the shell and viewing the results. Without the shell,
all you see in the terminal is a blinking cursor, and maybe the keys you
type being echoed on the screen.

Scripts are often run in shells without terminals (because nobody wants
to see the intermediate results, really), and programs other than shells
can be run in terminals.

> Also why are some terminals called
> consoles. What is the difference between the gnome-terminal and say
> xterm or the kde version or the xfce version.

That's an entirely different subject, but the best way to answer that
question is to read their man pages and try them out.

--
Joel Rees   <rees at ddcom.co.jp>
digitcom, inc.   株式会社デジコム
Kobe, Japan   +81-78-672-8800
** <http://www.ddcom.co.jp> **