Terminals and Shells: A Beginner's Guide

I often find that there is some confusion for beginner programmers when it comes to understanding the difference between a terminal and a shell.

Let’s take a few moments to look at the history of where those terms arose and how that fits with the world of modern computing.

What is a Terminal?

Computers used to be enormous machines, often filling entire rooms. When I was at University in the late 1980s, there was a large ‘mainframe’ machine somewhere in the Computer Science building and there were workstations around the university campus from where students and staff could use it.

ETHDam - My First Web3 Event

I’ve been looking for a way to get my teeth into the web3 world for a little while. I needed a project - something I could get coding, make it work and learn how this all works along the way.

And then my son, James, pointed me at ETHDam - a web3 conference with free tickets for anyone accepted into their hackathon. Given that he also had an idea for something we could work on together, it seemed the perfect opportunity.

Memorable Talks

In Successful Talk Proposals , I finished by suggesting that a track record of memorable talks goes a long way to any future proposal being successful.

But what makes a memorable talk?

For some years, I’ve been quietly asking attendees at PyCon UK what talks they remember from previous years and what makes those stand out. I’ve noticed some common themes in their responses…

Stories, Metaphors and Hidden Worlds

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the things that make a proposal stand out also do the same for the resulting talk. If you can tell a story, find a metaphor or describe a world the audience never knew existed, your talk will stick in the mind.