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Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Terminal) likely supports tabs, and if not (e.g. rxvt), then for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side of the same system

3. Command window for running the server

I rarely need a fourth terminal for the client, since it usually runs elsewhere (web app, native GUI app, mobile app, etc.), but if I were developing a CLI client for my server app, I'd have a separate terminal open for it, too.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I kept a root terminal open all the time.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, you can configure it give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with Ctrl-Alt-Fx.

Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator likely supports tabs (e.g. GNOME Terminal), and if not (e.g. rxvt), then for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side of the same system

3. Command window for running the server

I rarely need a fourth terminal for running the client program, since it usually runs elsewhere (web app, native GUI app, mobile app, etc.), but if I were developing a CLI client for my server app, I'd have a separate terminal open for it, too.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I kept a root terminal open all the time.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, you can configure it to give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with Ctrl-Alt-Fx.

Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Terminal) likely supports tabs, and if not, for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side

3. Command window for running the server

The client often runs outside the terminal, so I don't need a fourth window for it, as with a web app. But if I were developing a CLI client for my server app, I'd likely have a fourth window open for it, too.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I'd have another tab open all the time for a root terminal.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with [Ctrl-]Alt-Fn.

Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Terminal) likely supports tabs, and if not (e.g. rxvt), then for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side of the same system

3. Command window for running the server

I rarely need a fourth terminal for the client, since it usually runs elsewhere (web app, native GUI app, mobile app, etc.), but if I were developing a CLI client for my server app, I'd have a separate terminal open for it, too.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I kept a root terminal open all the time.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, you can configure it give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with Ctrl-Alt-Fx.

Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Terminal) likely supports tabs, and if not, for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side

3. Command window for running the server, which is generally a web app, so I don't need a fourth terminal window for it.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I'd have a fourth tab for a root terminal.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with [Ctrl-]Alt-Fn.

Why does UNIX/Linux provide multiple terminal emulators [on the console]?

For the same reason your GUI terminal emulator (e.g. GNOME Terminal) likely supports tabs, and if not, for the same reason launching a second GUI terminal app instance doesn't just pull the first one to the foreground and exit, forcing you to use the first instance.

I routinely use at least 3 terminal windows in my work, and often more:

1. Text editor for the server side of the system I'm working on

2. Text editor for the client side

3. Command window for running the server

The client often runs outside the terminal, so I don't need a fourth window for it, as with a web app. But if I were developing a CLI client for my server app, I'd likely have a fourth window open for it, too.

In the past, before sudo became popular, I'd have another tab open all the time for a root terminal.

I rarely use Unix/Linux boxes interactively at the console without a GUI these days, but I do often run them headless and access them over SSH. My SSH terminal client of choice supports tabs, configured as above.

One of my current hobby projects has me using a real old glass terminal occasionally, which means I no longer have multiple terminal windows, so I'm finally learning a bit about GNU screen, a program I never had much use for before, since I had either multiple console terminals or multiple GUI terminals. And what does screen do? Among other things, give you multiple virtual terminals on a single screen, just like Linux does with [Ctrl-]Alt-Fn.