One of the oldest apps and bidding - line tools that shipped with the Windows operating system is the Command Prompt , commonly called CMD . Now , Windows ships with not one or two but three tool . There is the OG that is the Command Prompt . Then come the PowerShell which made its debut in 2006 in Windows XP . And then Windows Terminal which was released in 2019 for Windows 10 and later 11 . So how do these three public utility company puppet differ ? Why do we even need three when one can suffice or is one really enough ?
Command Prompt vs PowerShell vs Windows Terminal
At its heart , they are all dictation - line shell and scripting terminology designed to trouble-shoot errors , run batch commands , pull off system maintenance tasks . But at its heart , there are elusive departure between the three that make them unlike .
What Is Command Prompt
Command Prompt was found as Command.com with Windows 95 and 98 . Some users also think it as MS - DOS . That ’s because it was widely used to head for the hills DOS commands as the directory ( DIR ) commands or testinternet f number . Microsoft later on turn Command Prompt officially with Windows NT .
Users could now interact with the aboriginal file cabinet system and troubleshoot some common and not - so - coarse wrongdoing by range system commands .
What Is Windows PowerShell
PowerShell is rearwards compatible with Command Prompt meaning anything that you could do with CMD , you could do with PowerShell . Launched in 2006 with XP , Microsoft immediately saw the potential and launched variant 2.0 with Windows 7 .
The new PowerShell was even more powerful and could run complex commands , automate administrative project , execute bid remotely , and unravel C # scheduling language which itself integrate with .NET Framework – a key constituent of Windows architecture since the beginning .
What Is Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal is anopen - reservoir project available on GitHub . Taking a cue from democratic terminal emulators and shell interfaces like Terminator , Windows Terminal came with all guns blaze . Apart from supporting Command Prompt and PowerShell command and shells , it also supports Windows Subsystem for Linux or WSL . In other words , you could now use BASH which was usually restricted to Linux OS , until now .
While it came pre - installed on my copy of Windows 11 , you could easilydownload it from the Microsoft Store .
Interface
Command Prompt has the most introductory interface that will immediately remind you of the early 2000 epoch when vane pages and GUI take care unintuitive and canonic . A sinister background with bloodless fonts where you could give commands .
PowerShell take things one step further by utilize certain colors to results making it easier to make sense of the output . For example , certain snipping of text are in yellow while errors are play up in red .
Terminal takes thing to the next stage by taking a tabbed approach . you’re able to now open up multiple tabs and work on different project or run different tasks at the same time . This make multitasking possible and fun . Some examples can be Raspberry Pi via SSH , CMD , and even PowerShell within Terminal .
Also , it not only supports full spectrum or color scheme but you’re able to alsoapply your own color schema . There is a context menu where you could change color system and make other changes to appearance , actions , etc . Not only that , you’re able to create profiles with unlike context for different shells , terminus , and SSH tunnel . enthusiast have a running library ofWindows Terminal themesyou can check .
Also Read:6 just Ways to Customize Windows Terminal App
PowerShell is the only one with a low-spirited background signal , however , you could change that . I think Microsoft made significant changes in the UI department with the Terminal . This is not to say that PowerShell is not powerful . It ’s crazy capable when compared with the old and humble Command Prompt . But Terminal wins the UI round .
Eagle - eyed users would have noticed Terminal has separate setting for both CMD and PowerShell in the above screenshot . More on that later .
Where Command Prompt Is Used
Command Prompt was mostly used by system admins who perform administrative chore like data formatting and managing disk segmentation . CMD was also widely used toview and supervise directory files , both user and system . Because it was possible to access organisation file , admins were able to trouble-shoot unlike types of error and fix corrupt file .
Where PowerShell Is Used
PowerShell can do all of that plus some more . With PowerShell , admins can control and deal a electronic web of reckoner within an organisation . CMD supports Batch dictation where you could give a bunch of commands , and it will execute them one at a clip without further input from you .
PowerShell , as the name suggests , can also run and interpret both Batch and Shell commands . So , how do PowerShell commands take issue from Batch commands ? PowerShell commands utilize cmdlets which means a group of commands . Admins can create cmdlets and then can fulfill them with a single command . No indigence to feed multiple commands into a batch . These are call scripts . PowerShell can action these scripts and automatise the whole process without having to wait for individual bidding to execute , like in CMD .
Taking things one step further , CMD also works with pipes , something that is rough-cut in Linux operating systems . So what are pipes ? Pipes allow admins to transfer data between program as well as computers operating in the same meshwork . Just like CMD can accomplish commands in a hatful , PowerShell can execute cmdlets in a chronological sequence .
So , for good example , pipe allow admins to take output signal from one programme and feed it as stimulant into another program , thereby creating a chain of tobacco pipe . Hence a chain of commands hold up through different programs and even computers .
Where Terminal Is Used
Terminal unlock the full potentiality of BASH ( Bourne Again Shell ) which was sooner throttle to Linux OS . Terminal also support Unicode and UTF-8 characters and GPU - speed up text interpreting engine . That last bit stand for Terminal can understand and exhibit emojis , particular characters , icons , andCascadia - codefont which opens the door for programming lit .
Because Windows Terminal is an open - source project , expect more features to arrive and continuos ontogenesis well into the future . Microsoftannounced way back in 2016that it would bear BASH inside Windows allow user to run Ubuntu . Terminal makes that possible , finally .
Wrap Up: Command Prompt vs PowerShell vs Terminal
Terminal has succeeded PowerShell just as PowerShell succeeded Command Prompt . Tterminal is where everything fare together and form just how it is supposed to . And because it is rearward compatible , you no longer take to utilize CMD or PowerShell , however , you may if you prefer .
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