Agentic data science with the Data Agent Kit
cloud.google.com·6h ago
Data Science
Simon Willison's Blog·Aug 21·5 min read
Stop Making TUIs
TL;DR
Thomas Ptacek urges developers to create native user interfaces (UIs) for their tools, emphasizing that the cost of building usable GUIs has significantly decreased. Transitioning from command-line interfaces (CLIs) to native apps can enhance user experience and change development perspectives.
✦ Why It Matters
Start converting your command-line tools into native applications to improve usability and user experience.
Key Takeaways
- Transform your CLIs into native apps for better user experience.
- Explore coding agents to simplify GUI development.
- Consider usability as a key factor in tool creation.
- Experiment with small projects to practice building native UIs.
Full Summary
Thomas Ptacek argues that developers should stop relying solely on command-line interfaces (CLIs) and start creating native user interfaces (UIs) for their applications. With advancements in coding agents, the barrier to developing functional graphical user interfaces (GUIs) has lowered dramatically, making it feasible even for small personal projects.
Ptacek shares his experience with custom macOS taskbar apps for monitoring bandwidth and GPU usage, which he uses daily. He believes that converting even a single CLI into a native app can profoundly change a developer's perspective on usability and functionality.
This shift not only improves user experience but also encourages developers to rethink their approach to tool creation.