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> Silence trumps noise

How about, ec2-server-start -n 4 -t medium -i img-xxxg Which expands to start 4 medium instances using image img-xxxg. Will you prefer a long wait and then silently back on prompt or an indication of something happening?

I agree with what he is saying, but I think there is a hint of unfair generalization here.

> Naming your utility

Again small unix commands are like precious three letter domain names. Not always viable. Also, although most of single letter commands are free, one should avoid to name a CLI binary in single letter, because 1. users often type single letter stuff by mistake. 2. users use single letter aliases.



> Will you prefer a long wait and then silently back on prompt or an indication of something happening?

This is what the -v, --verbose option is for. Without this flag, you should assume everything is operating as expected until you receive an error message or an exit status >0.




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