One of the problems with Linux on the desktop has been the perceived need to run all programs using the command line. Of course, with the KDE and GNOME desktops, Linux users can avoid the command line for most tasks, but there still comes a time when you need to enter a Linux command. 

Many non-Linux users worry about the complex, cryptic commands Linux inherits from its UNIX heritage. Let's face it, what some consider a great expressive power others fear as a daunting command line. Especially when compared to the yucky shell on Windows, what Linux offers is light years ahead.

But, the complex, non-standard array of command-line switches makes Linux commands harder to learn than they ought to be. That's where tools like Kaptain can help.

Available from http://www.hszk.bme.hu/%7Etz124/kaptain/, Kaptain uses the Qt libraries, the same libraries that the KDE desktop uses.

Much like Commando on the old Mac, Kaptain presents a GUI dialog on top of Linux command-line programs. Commands like find are hard for new users, especially users migrating from Windows. With a tool like Kaptain, you can present a more friendly front end on top of Linux commands like find, grep, and enscript.

The enscript support is great, since I rarely change the options, I have never learned the program like I have grep and find.

Unlike Commando, though, Kaptain doesn't show the completed command. I really liked Commando because it showed the complete command as you entered the options. This helped me to learn some commands, and especially some of the more obscure options. After a while, you don't need the tool because you remember the options.

Kaptain works by running a program called kaptain that reads in a special file that describes all the options for a given Linux command. The kaptain program creates a dialog showing all the options and allows the user to build up the command to run. Once complete, the user can click on the OK button to run the command.

The syntax of these special files, called grammar files, is not that hard to figure out, so you can add your own commands without too much work.