Google hits coder G-spot with Linux command line tool
'I love you, Google,' scream text interface obsessives
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Google has introduced a command line utility for accessing various Chocolate Factory services, including YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs, Calender, and Contacts. And an army of text-interface obsessives have responded with glee.
"I love you!!" one coder told Google. "This couldn't be better!!"
"Ooh, I hope it's not April 1 today. *calendar check* Wow, nope!" said another. "There goes my Friday evening."
"Effin amazing" said a third.
Google CL is a Python application that uses the gdata Python client library to make Google Data API calls from the command line. Currently, it supports Blogger, Picasa, YouTube, Google Docs, Contacts, and Calendar.
Just think of it. You can update your blog or browse a list of web videos or update your online calendar – all without stooping to the level of a GUI interface.
"Ever wanted to upload a folder full of photos to Picasa from a command prompt?" Google said in a blog post. "We did, a lot, last summer. It made us want to say:
$ google picasa create --title "My album" ~/Photos/vacation/*.jpg
So we wrote a program to do that, and a whole lot more."
The open source Google CL is hosted on Google Code, and you can browse the project here. Once you download the application, you too can enjoy such command line orgasms as:
$ google blogger post --blog "My blog" --tags "python, googlecl, development" my_post.html
and
$ google calendar add "Lunch with Jason tomorrow at noon"
and
$ google docs edit --title "Shopping list" --editor vim
The project is geared towards Linux. Google offers a Linux .deb package and a tar archive for download. But independent developer Isaac Truett is offering instructions for using the tool on Windows. And Google points to some Mac tips here.
Example scripts are available here. ®
COMMENTS
Was that sarcasm?
Why the poor attempt at sarcasm? As it happens, command line interfaces are more efficient for certain tasks, especially those which are repetitive and/or lend themselves well to automation, they are also faster in some instances (not just for general admin, take for example skilled CAD operators, who use the command line as their primary interface with the mouse being just an extension of it). The right tool for the job and all that.
The tone of the article feels a bit like mocking touch typists just because you're a two-fingers only, stare and poke type. Nevertheless, thanks for the news.
We're doomed, doomed I tell you
if children play with this sort of thing then they may learn to put several commands together and whole graphics/pr departments will be replaced with batch files and we wont be able to move on the streets for out of work people explaining to us in a patronising manner how cars and traffic lights will never catch on because they're not shaded in quite the right way or how its been shown by Hiccups, Windrush and Follow-Through (PDF download £99) how the whole concept of simple one click on-line sales really needs to be padded out with 'dickheads who bought this toothpaste also bought a trident submarine' to actually sell ...er toothpaste...
Oh shit - all those second hand macs bringing down the price of proper PC's
Re : text-interface obsessives
There may well be lots of people who want to interact by CLI with programs but the REAL advantage is being able to embed this type of control into scripts, cron jobs and programs.
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