On contemporary computational environments, four kinds of are in
use. `command line interface', such as The shell is the
integrator, and you run programs, such as ls or grep, that can
be piped. Many people who use the shell do not see it as the
integrator, with the programs being `filters'. You can see this
in the expansion of VI over the last couple of decades, to take
on more an more of the shell integrating capabilities. virtual
Lisp machine, Emacs Emacs is the integrator, pulling together
many libraries, including an editor. Many people who use Emacs
do not see it as an `integrated environment' but as an
`extensible editor'. You can see this in the way RMS speaks of
dired and other such capabilities as a enlarged form of editing,
a metaphorical extension of what we normally call `editing'.
graphic user interface, such as Gnome, KDE, or Enlightenment The
graphic user interface is the integrator. Many people who use
one copy files by `drag and drop', a method that does not scale.
Computer geeks tend to incl