[velhartice]

Why should I have to take a computer science course and memorize a whole language to install a program, manipulate files, change a configuration, etc… Not all of us who use computers for a living are programmers. I manage several computers that perform different tasks, but thats only part of my job. Dropping into CLI is something I only need to do a few times a year only because some of the software I use has no other UI. I’ll posit that people like myself use GUIs much easier because they are self learning. I don’t need a CS degree just to use it, all the options are laid before me to see at once. It’s the fastest way for me to do what I want with the software and move on with my life.

[h4n1]

I'm not a programmer either. I just started running Linux out of curiosity, followed a few "copy-paste this into your terminal" guides, eventually got the hang of it and now I do almost everything in it.

It both is and isn't "a whole language". Most commands just execute a single program with options and/or arguments, except you don't have the overhead of opening a GUI, finding the right dropdown menu, etc. You quickly start to pick it up like you would a spoken language, remembering the "words" for actions, and it becomes a very natural way to think.

IMO the biggest stumbling block is just learning how to type efficiently. This includes knowing about tab completion, history search, putting stuff in your .bashrc and so on.