this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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Which terminal emulator do you use? (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago by tourist@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
183 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've always just used konsole or gnome terminal. Never really looked into what else is available. Tried cool-retro-term the other day, but the novelty wore off pretty fast for me.

Curious to see if there's a terminal someone swears by and refuses to use anything else.

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[–] deezbutts@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I'm high AF and new to Linux, what is a terminal emulator?

[–] rufus@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 11 months ago (2 children)

So the “terminal” is the basic CLI that you use in the single-user, text-based mode. Terminal emulators are graphical programs that run in multi-user, graphics-based mode, and they hook into the terminal and allow you to access it inside graphical sessions. Some examples would be alacritty, kitty, urxvt, konsole, or terminator

[–] deezbutts@lemm.ee 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for taking the time.

I've been using the literal terminal app like a caveman I guess... What do these weird apps give me over my regular terminal?

People mentioned tabs and stuff but like... I have tabs?

[–] Jordan_U@lemmy.ml 10 points 11 months ago

Every "terminal app" is a terminal emulator, because non-emulated terminals are physical pieces of hardware.

So you are already using a terminal emulator, I'd guess Gnome Terminal, and it's a fairly full featured modern terminal emulator (in my opinion at least).

[–] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks I actually thought this was about emulators like the Tektronics Vt 4052 terminal emulator I used to use.

[–] al177@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 11 months ago

That's exactly what they are, but instead of connecting to a VAX at the other end of a modem they talk to a shell attached to a pseudo terminal device on the same machine.

[–] doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 11 months ago

In overly simple terms

It's a terminal app on your desktop, e.g. alacritty, konsole, kitty, terminator, urxvt, etc.

As opposed to the terminal that your computer would boot into it you didn't have a desktop environment installed.

[–] Jordan_U@lemmy.ml 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Fun fact!

Teletypes predate "computers" and were used for efficiently transmitting and recording text.

Here is a purely mechanical teletype from the 1930s being used to interface with a modern Linux machine:

https://youtu.be/2XLZ4Z8LpEE?si=BEsTAz5kkYu9tIQB

[–] Corr@lemm.ee 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This was a very cool video. Thank you for sharing!

[–] Hjalamanger@feddit.nu 1 points 11 months ago

And seemingly a nice YT channel :)

[–] Blisterexe@lemmy.zip 3 points 11 months ago

Basically just a more accurate way to say terminal