The world of terminals and command shells can be confusing, especially for beginner users. However, understanding the difference between a terminal and a shell is the first step to effectively working with Unix-like systems. This article will explain what terminals and shells are, how they are related, and how they differ.

A terminal is a program that provides a text-based interface to interact with the operating system.

What does a terminal do?

• Processes commands entered by the user.

• Displays the results of command execution.

• Facilitates interaction with the command shell.

Examples of terminals:

• Graphical terminals: GNOME Terminal (Linux), iTerm2 (macOS), Windows Terminal (Windows)

• Text-based terminals: tty in Linux

A shell is a program that accepts user commands and passes them to the system's kernel for execution.

Role of the shell:

• Interprets user commands.

• Executes scripts and automates tasks.

• Manages processes and the file system.

• Configures environment variables and aliases.

Examples of shell operations with processes:

Run a task in the background:

nohup long_running_task &  # The task continues running even after exiting the terminal.

Manage processes:

bg  # Resume a background task.
fg  # Bring a task to the foreground.

| Parameter       | Terminal                     | Shell                     |
|-----------------|------------------------------|----------------------------|
| Role            | Displays input and output     | Executes commands          |
| Examples        | GNOME Terminal, tty           | bash, zsh, fish            |
| Interdependence | Cannot execute commands without a shell | Works within a terminal |

To see how the terminal and shell work together, try the following commands:

pwd                   # Show the current directory
ls                    # List files
echo "Hello, world!"  # Print a message
cat filename.txt      # View the contents of a file
top                   # Monitor processes in real-time

The terminal is the window for communicating with your system, while the shell is the tool that interprets your commands and interacts with the OS kernel. Understanding their differences and how they work together will make your experience with Linux and Unix systems more productive.

Originally published by SysOpsMaster on Mirror.xyz