This is a complex issue. In fact, you can work with Pharo in a Unix-like manner. Use an external editor to modify the source code and run the image without any GUI. However, by doing so, you lose the most interesting and enriching aspects of it. The Pharo team has worked hard to integrate better with the world outside the Pharo image. People still complain that it is not like anything else they know, but if it were, they would miss the opportunity to learn how to do things differently and possibly better. There is also a lot of excellent documentation available, especially the MOOC, but it requires newcomers to invest some time.