2.3 Advanced User Interfaces

The command-line interface, as we described it above, makes it relatively straightforward to ``plug'' in any other front-end as a new user interface with possibly a very different look-and-feel. In fact, the command-line interface is the most primitive front-end that we can think of: most host shell interpreters can be used to perform various short-cuts in executing programs. Modern interactive UNIX shells like tcsh and bash can be used very efficiently in this mode. In batch mode shell scripts, if used properly, can provide a very powerful method of running complex simulations. Other plug-compatible interfaces that are available are mirtool and miriad, described in more detail in Appendix  and There was also a Khoros (cantata, under khoros V1) interface^2.8available, but this product is not open source anymore. Lastly, lets not forget scripting languages like python, perl and ruby. Although the class UNIX (c)sh shell is very WYSIWYG, with a modest amount of investment the programmability of higher level scripts can give you a very powerful programming environment.^2.9