Why Did Apple Switch to ZSH? • [ZshWiki] • Zsh is a shell for Un*x systems (2024)

Why did Apple switch to use? In the recent years Apple has moved from Mac to a “Newton” platform. The switch from Mac to iOS devices was driven primarily by Apple’s desire to provide customers with a new device that started life on an apple product. Apple’s desire to remain a technology leader also drove their decision to develop an intuitive user interface. Apple would essentially change everything about the Mac OS X system, including its underlying software, in order to place it on a non-compatible hardware. The result is that Mac OS X now supports only one single input method: zsh.

Apple is heavy on simplifying their products and command line interface has been another area where they have strived for simplicity. In fact, the new features that the company has introduced into the command line (the Terminal) are so simple that they may be used by children. Apple has leveraged the power of Vim and bash by providing a single command line session that can run multiple commands. The result is that you can now run multiple tasks concurrently. In essence you can do your typing in the terminal and then simultaneously perform other tasks in your Mac environment.

Not long ago, Apple switched to using Vim as the default terminal for OS X. When Apple switched to using Vim, a lot of people wondered why, since vi is so much more mature and widely used. Apple has leveraged the power of Vim by adding support for additional languages. So if you are a programmer or developer you can utilize your Vim skills to write some additional programs.

Apple switched to using bash as the default shell for OS X.

This was done not only as a marketing strategy but it also made it much easier for system administrators to manage the different users that were sharing the same system. In fact, many third-party companies even develop interactive shells for OS X based on bash.

Apple has leveraged the power of bash by adding support for additional languages. So if you are a programmer or developer you can utilize your Vim skills to write some additional programs. For example, you can find a lot of companies that offer source code editing applications for Linux systems. These applications work just the same way as those that you would find in a Windows environment and can be run using a simple command line interface.

Nowadays, most people use Unix-like platforms for web browsing and developing. Even those who use Macs still use a user account similar to bash. In order to switch to a user account, the user must log in as root. By logging in as root, one can execute different commands. One such command is “ksh”, which enables you to switch to your own user account.

Not all shells are equal.

One of the primary reasons why Apple switched to zsh is because it is closer to the functionality of the standard bash. If you are familiar with the standard bash, you will be glad to know that there is an Apple ZSH prompts which looks similar to the one you will find in Microsoft Outlook. The only difference is that you do not need to type anything after the @ sign. To switch to your own user account, enter a command followed by a colon and then a space. To return to the main menu, enter a command followed by a colon.

Although many developers claim that they have the “toughest” shells available, only few of them can provide you with a robust computer program. Apple has designed its own shells which are able to run all kinds of useful programs such as Excel, Safari, and Firefox among others. With these programs, you can literally enjoy working on your computer. Therefore, you should consider using Apple’s default shell because it is the easiest to work with.